New Delhi: The Supreme Court has orally told the Madhya Pradesh government to withdraw a controversial order that had officers of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Forest Service (IFS) at loggerheads. The top court Wednesday warned the state that it would be held in contempt otherwise.
In its order dated 29 June, the MP government said that district magistrates and divisional commissioners would have a say in the appraisals of IFS officers serving in districts. Tasks related to forest management, the Forest Rights Act, land acquisition, ecotourism, mining activities in forest areas performed by IFS officers serving as divisional forest officer, conservator of forests, and chief conservator of forests, were to be evaluated by the district collector and divisional commissioner, according to the state government’s order.
The directions created a stir within the state bureaucracy as IFS officers alleged the order diluted their authority, raised questions of conflict of interest, contravened a Supreme Court judgment, endangered forest conservation, and dampened their morale.
The matter came before the Supreme Court following a petition filed by Gaurav Kumar Bansal, who argued that the government’s order undermined the core mandate of forest officers.
In his petition, Bansal stated that in landmark cases such as the T. N. Godavarman Thirumulpad vs Union of India and Others (2000) and Santosh Bharti vs State of Madhya Pradesh, the Supreme Court had clearly said the “the competent authority to write the confidential report of the Forest Department Officers up to the level of APCCF (Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests) will be officers superior to them in the same service when posted in field”.
As first reported by ThePrint, the IFS Association has strongly opposed the attempt to change the evaluation process of IFS officers. In a 4 July letter to the chief minister, the association said, “This administrative order will serve as a major setback for the conservation and protection of natural resources of the country, which is the prime mandate of the Indian Forest Service Officers.”
“It is baffling to note that an officer is being assessed by two officers from different departments, which could adversely impact the career progression of the officer,” the letter added. “It is sadly noted, the order says that senior officers like Conservator of Forests and Chief Conservator of Forests posted in the District will be assessed by District Collector/Commissioner, who are generally officers of much junior pay scale.”
The association also said the order was in contravention of a 1995 Supreme Court judgment, which stated that “up to the officer of the rank of Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, the reporting authority has to be the immediately superior officer within the Forest Department”.
It is only in the case of the principal chief conservator of forests, who has no superior authority within the service, that the reporting authority can be outside of the forest department, the judgement said.
An IAS officer from Madhya Pradesh, who requested anonymity, however, said the order was to ensure better coordination between departments, and that many other states such as Karnataka, Rajasthan and Maharashtra have similar provisions in place.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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