Alleging harassment and apathetic attitude of the authorities, the three staff associations of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) are now demanding that the council be brought back under the purview of Government of India.
The scientific, technical and ministerial employees of the ICFRE will now plan their plan of agitation next month and not end agitation until concrete action is taken as they complain that past assurances have not been met by the authorities.
Earlier this month members of the Federation of Scientific Association, Technical Staff Association and Ministerial Staff Association of the ICFRE had protested against delay in salary disbursal and because since its creation in 1986 as an autonomous body through a cabinet note the pattern implemented in similarly created bodies like the Indian Council of Agricultural Research or Council of Scientific and Industrial Research has not been implemented in the ICFRE.
TSA secretary CM Sharma said, “The authorities have failed to implement the cabinet note in a period of 22 years though according to Government regulations in such a case rules should be drafted in five years and implemented in seven years. We want an appropriate law of governance in the council but the issue is being ignored. The staff do not receive pension, medical and other benefits. Recently a secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Forests had visited Dehradun and discussed the issue here.
However since then we have started facing harassment. FoSA secretary and head of the Genetics and Tree Propagation division of the Forest Research Institute has been removed from the HoD post. We are now required to seek permission from the institute director even to visit our colleagues in other divisions. The police and local Intelligence Unit have also been called to the campus. In spite of such harassment the members of the associations attended the meeting on Thursday and have decided that now we want the council to be brought back under the control of GoI. We will not rest with assurances now but demand concrete action,” Sharma said.