Jorhat, April 7: Assam forest and environment minister Atuwa Munda today sought a special package for the forest department employees from Union forest, environment and climate change minister Prakash Javedekar.
Munda is in New Delhi to attend the two-day conference of forest and environment ministers of all states organised by the Centre, which was inaugurated yesterday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Munda told The Telegraph from Delhi that today he submitted a memorandum to Javedekar requesting the Centre to grant a special package for the forest employees engaged in wildlife conservation and carry out modernisation of the department.
"Forest personnel work under very difficult conditions in the field, especially those on the frontline in the national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and also in the forest divisions where they are entrusted with anti-depredation activities to minimise man-animal conflict," Munda said.
The minister said he has personally visited Kaziranga National Park several times after he assumed charge in January and has seen the kind of terrain and adverse conditions the frontline employees face while protecting wildlife especially rhinos, which are the prime target of the poachers.
He said if a monthly allowance could be paid to the employees involved in conservation then it would be an incentive for the men who were braving all odds to protect wildlife.
The minister said as the forest employees needed better facilities in terms of infrastructure, weapons, communications system, vehicles, new training and provision of giving food ration and uniforms (as given to policemen), the Centre should come up with a modernisation scheme on the lines of police modernisation programme which the central government was carrying on in all states.
He said undertaking such a programme, the Centre could make the forest employees better equipped to tackle the present-day challenges as criminals were using sophisticated weapons and techniques for poaching.
Munda said during his address in the conference today, he opposed the T.S.R. Subramanian committee's recommendations, under which the Centre would alone decide on implementing any national project without taking the consent of the respective state governments and the people inhabiting in the areas where the project will come up.
"Without taking the local people and the state government's consent could lead to number of problems. In the name of development the environmental aspects and rights of tribal people cannot be undermined," he said.
He said he also reiterated the Union minister to consider the Assam government's request for announcing a separate scheme for rhinos on the lines of Project Tiger and Project Elephant to give more priority to the protection and conservation of the rhino.
