Excelsior Correspondent
KISHTWAR, May 1: Minister for Social Welfare, Forest, Ecology and Environment Bali Bhagat today reviewed the functioning of Forest Department in a meeting with DFOs, Range Officers and other officers/officials of the forest territorial, SFC and Forest Protection Force at Kishtwar today.
While reviewing the sector wise and division wise performance of the Forest Department, Mr. Bhagat directed SFC to dump sufficient timber at Kishtwar for the local needs. Re-organize the forest divisions and make them at par with administrative divisions, Minister further directed. He asked to establish new Forest Depots wherever necessary so that the locals do not face shortage of timber.
To bring transparency in the system Mr. Bhagat instructed all the DFOs to display the list of sanctioned timber beneficiaries in the offices besides he informed that an online system to track the application for timber in the Forest Department is in offing.
Expressing concern over the huge chunk of encroached forest land, Minister directed all the officers of the Forest Department to strive on mission mode to retrieve back the encroached land. Targets should be fixed for each division for retrieving the encroached land, he added. All the condemned departmental vehicles should be auctioned immediately, Minister said.
The employees of the Forest Department apprised the Minister about their issues and demands such as removal of pay anomalies, release of risk allowance, regularization of the forest employees working in the department, conduct of DPC etc. to which Minister gave a patient hearing and assured to redress them.
Earlier, the Minister inspected the DFO office Kishtwar and National Interpretation Centre Kishtwar alongwith the Minister of State for PWD (R&B) and Revenue Sunil Kumar Sharma.
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