Expressing deep concern over the inordinate delay in promotion of its senior members in the State, the Indian Forest Service (IFS) Association, Odisha Chapter has urged the State Government to incorporate special provisions in the cadre review proposal, especially to facilitate promotion of officers from the 1983 to 1986 batch, who, without this, are likely to retire without reaching the Higher Administrative Grade (HAG).
“Our next cadre review will be due in 2019, and by that time so many officers will have retired that we may not need a cadre review,” said secretary of IFS Association Odisha Chapter Sanjeev Chadha in a representation to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
The association has made the representation suggesting for an additional post of PCCF and 81 additional posts of APCCF as a temporary addition to the cadre for five years in the cadre review proposal the State Government is going to submit to Centre soon.
Skewed recruitment in the past has resulted in a severe stagnation in the service, particularly at the top level of the cadre, said Chadha.
“An analysis of the decadal direct recruitment to the IFS in the State shows that only 17 officers were recruited in the 1970s against 64 in the 80s, which again dropped to just eight in the 90s,” said Chadha, adding that this crippling stagnation is caused as 41 officers were recruited between 1981 and 1986.
In order to address this typical situation, many States have been giving in-situ promotion to officers in these batches or are resorting to enhancement of cadre strength at the level of APCCF and PCCF. As a result, in most of the States the 1984 batch officers have been promoted to the rank of APCCF, he pointed out.