RTI reveals acute shortage of manpower with the forest department
17 Apr, 2013The reply to an application filed under the Right to Information has revealed that the forest department of Delhi is facing acute shortage of manpower in protecting and increasing the tree cover in the national capital.
The reply provided by the forest department states that all the three zones of Delhi are crippling with shortage of manpower. The north division has 99 posts vacant against the sanctioned total strength of 268. It has only five forest guards for protection of trees against the strength of 15. Also out of 268 labourers required to plant saplings and maintaining them, 85 posts are vacant.
The reply shows that the west division has 73 posts vacant against sanctioned strength of 315. Similarly it has four posts of forest guards and 64 posts of labourers lying vacant. Though the data of south division not provided in the reply, the officials have expressed similar concerns about the shortage of manpower.
The huge number of vacancies in the three divisions of the forest department has made it difficult for the department to conserve, enhance and maintain the forest cover in the city.