| Forest deptt closes 4 projects in 2005, staff gets wages for sitting idle | | Jangal main mangal | | Arun Singh
Early Times Report
jammu, Oct 8: The Forest department shut down four of its projects in 2005, but the staff employed continue to receive wages for sitting idle.
The department had started the projects under Integrated Watershed Development Programme (IWDP) with an aim to harnessing, conserving and developing degraded natural resources such as soil, vegetative cover and water. These projects were however closed in 2005, but the staff working in the projects was not repatriated and continued to stay there.
"With the closure of four projects in 2005 under the IWDP all the assets created under the project were handed over to Territorial Forest department," sources said, adding that around 300 officers who were assigned the job of implementation of the projects were not repatriated.
This means the staff has got crore of rupees from 2005 till date. The department is yet to take up the issue of the adjustment of the idle staff.
Pertinently the main objective of this programme was for the development of waste lands in non-forest areas, checking of land degradation, putting such waste land into sustainable use and increasing bio mass, availability of fuel wood, fodder and restoration ecology etc. |
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