Guwahati, Oct 23 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday launched an online randomisation system for transferring forest department employees, saying the initiative would bring transparency to the process and improve administrative efficiency.
The Employee Transfer Randomisation System (ETRS) portal has been introduced for employees of the Department of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, with 2,137 eligible personnel transferred following its launch.
Sarma said the online system would ensure a transparent transfer process and urged other government departments to adopt a similar mechanism.
In the first phase, the portal facilitated transfers of employees, including deputy rangers, foresters, forest guards, fixed-pay workers and game watchers, who had completed three years at their current places of posting.
Certain categories of employees have been exempted from the transfer process, subject to applicable rules and administrative requirements.
These include employees aged 58 years and above, except those who have sought transfers themselves, and those whose spouses, sons or daughters are suffering from serious medical conditions such as cancer, paralysis, cerebral palsy, liver cirrhosis or ailments requiring dialysis.
Employees covered under pregnancy-related considerations, those who have not completed three years at their current postings, personnel serving in the wildlife wing whose specialised expertise is considered essential for wildlife protection and management, and those under suspension have also been exempted, as per the applicable provisions.
The chief minister also said the state government had taken steps to curb encroachment in forest areas, with eviction drives continuing across the state.
More than 600 hectares of forest land had recently been freed from encroachment, he said.
Emphasising the need to restore cleared forest land, Sarma called for the creation of a database of encroached areas and immediate afforestation to expand the state’s green cover.
He also claimed that rhino poaching had been eliminated in the state and urged the forest department to give equal importance to the protection of other wildlife species.
Sarma asked the department to improve revenue collection and plug loopholes that lead to revenue losses.
He said rising demand for stone and sand had fuelled illegal trade, depriving the forest department of revenue.
To curb such activities and boost collections, he stressed the need to legalise stone quarries and sand-mining sites operating illegally, in accordance with applicable regulations.
Highlighting the importance of technology in forest conservation, the chief minister called for continuous monitoring of forest areas through satellite imagery to detect encroachment at an early stage. PTI DG DG MNB
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