Convener News Desk
Poonch, Jan 16: A delegation of frontline forest field staff from Poonch Forest Division on Thursday met Cabinet Minister for Forest, Ecology and Environment, Javid Ahmed Rana, and raised long-pending demands related to pay parity, additional salary and grant of risk allowance, urging the government to address what they termed as a continuing injustice with the cadre.
The delegation informed the minister that Forest Guards, who were earlier placed in the same Pay Level-2 as Village Level Workers, Patwaris and Junior Assistants, continue to remain at the same level, even as the other cadres have been upgraded to Pay Level-4. They said the disparity persists despite the fact that forest guards perform more hazardous, technical and statutory duties that require round-the-clock field presence.
The frontline staff highlighted that their work involves 24×7 deployment in difficult and often inaccessible forest terrains, where they face constant threats from wild animals, forest fires, timber smugglers, encroachers and organised mafias, while enforcing forest and environmental protection laws. Despite playing a crucial role in conservation and protection of forests and wildlife, they said, their services remain undervalued and inadequately compensated.
The delegation also demanded the grant of 2½ days additional salary and a dedicated risk allowance, citing the nature of risks involved in their day-to-day duties and the absence of any compensatory benefits for the hazards they routinely face.
Minister Javid Ahmed Rana gave a patient hearing to the delegation and acknowledged the legitimacy of the concerns raised. He assured the frontline staff that the issue of pay anomaly and related demands were under active consideration and that sincere efforts would be made to resolve the matter at the earliest, in coordination with the concerned departments.
The delegation expressed hope that the government would take decisive and time-bound action to correct the long-standing pay disparity and ensure dignity, parity and fair compensation for frontline forest personnel, who remain the first line of defence in protecting forests and wildlife in the region.
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