India News | Delhi to Get 211 Forest Guards Soon

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.

Also Read | Gujarat Shocker: Man Illegally Confines, Rapes Woman For 4 Months With Help of Family Members in Kheda; Booked.

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.

Also Read | Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel Urges 17 Chief Ministers To Jointly Urge Centre To Continue GST Compensation.

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.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)