Allowance: A mechanism to clear ambiguity

BHUBANESWAR: The Forest Department is working on a mechanism to decide which of its field staff can avail of the special allowance meant for personnel operating in the Left-wing extremist (LWE)-affected regions.  After a controversy arose last year over the eligibility, the Department has held up the allowance for its field staff. The Government has asked the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) PN Padhi to come up with a structure so that the existing ambiguity can be cleared. At present, 19 districts have been declared Naxal-hit. As per the Government of India notification, police personnel, working in the affected districts, are entitled to the special allowance. For this, every police station (PS) is considered as a unit. Personnel working under limits of a Naxal-hit PS can avail of the allowance. Interestingly, the Forest Department too used the model of PS as a unit and allowed its personnel, posted in the headquarters, to draw the allowance. This, however, led to confusion since the Forest ranges are the basic units for the Department’s field staff.“One PS had under its territorial limits multiple number of Forest ranges and in such cases determining who is posted in which headquarters became tough,” said Padhi. Instead of using PS as a unit, the Forest Department is drawing up a mechanism in which ranges will be used as a unit. The modalities for this, the PCCF said, will soon be place and operationalised. What led to the ambiguity was availing of special allowance by a CCF-ranked officer last year. The officer in question was posted closer to the State Headquarters but availed of over ` 2 lakh as allowance for touring Naxal-hit districts. Once the audit pointed out the discrepancy, the Forest Department was on the back foot.  “There has to be financial discipline in such matters. Moreover, we have to ensure that senior officers behave responsibly too,” Padhi said. The stalemate over the special allowance has also been creating resentment among the field staff. Recently, the Odisha Forest Services’ Association also raised the issue at its general body meeting and urged the Department to address the issue.