#TCMS #kFD
#ChiefMinister
#EshwarKhandre
It was with the intent of curtailing corruption that the Transfer Counselling Management System (TCMS) was introduced in the Karnataka Forest Department.
Now, it is disturbing that 40 MLAs have written to chief minister Siddaramaiah and forest minister Eshwar Khandre to scrap TCMS and return back to the ‘lucrative’ general transfer system.
The money-for-post business has to stop.
There is absolutely no doubt that transfer-seeking foresters were paying MLAs and district-in-charge ministers to get a posting of their choice.
The going rate for a posting in a tiger reserve until recently was Rs 25-40 lakh for the field director, Rs 15-22 lakh for assistant conservator of forest, Rs 10-15 lakh for range forest officer, Rs 5-7 lakh for deputy range forest officer.
Having invested in getting a coveted post of their choice, the investors’ focus was more on recovering their investment, rather than on protection of forests, wildlife, biodiversity.
Consequently, forests suffered.
Local communities, especially farmers, suffered, too.
Those who have been in a post for more than four years should be transfered, unless their expertise and man-management skills are needed to mitigate human-animal conflicts.
Mr. Eshwar Khandre has shown encouraging determination to protect our fragile ecosystem. We are confident he will not succumb to the pressure of these MLAs, be they from Congress or BJP.
Our forests have been plundered enough. We can’t afford to lose our precious biodiversity to please the whims and fancies of MLAs and district-in-charge ministers.
Joseph Hoover
