New Delhi, Mar 28 (PTI) Delhi will soon get 211 forest guards, with the forest department on Monday releasing the results of an online test conducted a year ago.
Based on their performance in the computer-based test, 253 candidates have been provisionally shortlisted for physical endurance and physical standard tests, a notice issued by the department said.
The coronavirus pandemic and procedural delays in the payment of exam fees amounting to around Rs 50 crore had impeded the recruitment of forest guards by the severely short-staffed forest department, according to officials.
Hearing a plea moved by lawyer Aditya Prasad, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had in July 2019 ordered the department to fill up vacant posts at the earliest. In November that year, the NGT again directed the authorities to complete the recruitment process within four months.
According to the officials, the Delhi government outsourced the online testing and assessment services to EdCIL India Limited in November 2019, taking them out of the purview of the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board, and issued an advertisement in December to fill up 226 vacant sanctioned posts – four forest rangers, 211 forest guards and 11 wildlife guards.
EdCIL, a Miniratna public sector enterprise under the Ministry of Human Resource Development, conducted the exam for forest rangers and wildlife guards in March 2020. The final results were declared in January 2021.
The computer-based test for the recruitment of forest guards was conducted between March 1 and March 7, 2021.
It can take a few months to complete the remaining process, an official said.
The officials have acknowledged that it is difficult to ensure the enforcement of forest laws on the ground due to the debilitating shortage of staff. PTI GVS IJT
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