The State Government would soon appoint 350 Forest Guards and 650 Foresters, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) JD Sharma has said. Speaking at the World Forestry Day function organised by the Forest and Environment Department at the Jayadev Bhawan here on Saturday, Sharma said a notification in this regard would be issued in the next 15 days.
“Forest theft has gone down in areas where the local units have worked better. A joint effort by us, the media and locals can bring in even better results. We will hire about 350 Forest Guards and 650 Foresters by April 2015. We will issue the notification within 15 days. The process is in final stages,” he said.
Two Forest Range Officers, six Foresters and 12 Forest Guards were awarded for excellence in duty on the occasion by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.“The state government has undertaken massive programmes this year to create new jungles,” said Minister of Forest and Environment Bikram Arukh.