Deploying forest guards ‘concerning’, say wildlife conservationists

New Delhi: A group of former bureaucrats and wildlife conservationists has called for the retraction of an order from the Assam government’s environment department requiring the deployment of about 1,600 Assam Forest Protection Force (AFPF) personnel for the upcoming elections in the state.

In an open letter, the officials state that the deployment of AFPF will not only undermine forest and wildlife protection but also be in direct contravention of established legal and administrative norms.

“As per the explicit guidelines of the Election Commission of India (ECI), territorial forest forces and serving forest officials, including senior Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers, are not to be requisitioned for election-related duties,” said the letter.

Written by Prakriti Srivastava, former principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF), Kerala, the letter has also been signed by Meena Gupta, former secretary of the Environment Ministry, Dr AK Jha, former PCCF, Maharashtra, Dr Uma Shankar Singh, former PCCF, Uttar Pradesh, Prerna Singh Bindra, former member of the National Board of Wildlife’s standing committee, and Debadityo Sinha, a wildlife conservationist.

The letter also cites a 2024 Supreme Court order that exempted forest officials and departmental vehicles from election deployment.

“This matter requires urgent attention to prevent administrative overreach and to uphold the rule of law, while ensuring that our forests, wildlife and their habitats are protected and not allowed to be plundered by unscrupulous elements in the absence of field staff,” said the letter.

Issued on March 19, the order by Assam’s environment department directed the deployment of AFPF personnel to assist the state police for the elections, which are scheduled to take place on April 9.

The personnel are required to report to Assam’s Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) by April 3 and are expected to return on April 10.