In a move that will benefit thousands of Forest Department personnel, the State government is likely to extend the subsidiary canteen facilities of the Police Department to the Forest Department personnel as well.
This follows an appeal by conservation activist Giridhar Kulkarni who pointed out that such a precedent already exists in Tamil Nadu and the same model could be replicated in Karnataka which will enable the forest staff to procure essential items at a subsidised rate.
The appeal was made before the Minister for Forests Environment and Ecology Eshwar Khandre some time ago while a delegation of Forest Department staff met the Minister and made a similar appeal.
Price rise was cited as one of the reasons for such a facility which will provide essential commodities to the Forest Department personnel at a subsidised rate. The Range Forest Officers Association which met the minister during the Belagavi session of the Assembly had stated that the Forest Department staff undergo severe hardship in defence of forests and environment and risk their lives like the police.
Mr. Kulkarni said establishing a string of canteens exclusively for Forest Department personnel will cost the State Exchequer which will have to incur additional expenditure. Instead, it would be prudent to let the forest personnel use the existing police canteen as this will reduce the financial burden, he added.
The gesture of extending subsidised canteen facilities to the Forest Department will shore up the spirits of the field-level staff who court risk daily in defence of the flora and fauna of the State, said Mr. Kulkarni. The additional expenditure to be incurred by the government would be nominal and restricted to logistics of transporting more quantity of essential items like household needs, groceries, food products, toiletries etc that are already supplied to police canteens.
He pointed out that many field staff remain cut off from their families for a long duration during their postings deep in the jungles and subsidised canteen facility would be a small gesture to express appreciation for their work.
Meanwhile, the office of the forest minister has forwarded the memorandum seeking subsidised canteen, to the office of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests with instructions to initiate the process.
