Telangana Forest officers’ plea seeking weapons and establishing forest stations lies in cold storage

In the Karjelly incident on Wednesday, apart from killing a farmer, the elephant had chased a forest team for over 200 metres.

HYDERABAD: The forest officers’ plea seeking arms and ammunition for self-protection and establishing forest stations for effective monitoring is lying in cold storage due to dearth of funds and lack of support from the government. The elephant attack on a few villagers in Kumram Bheem Asifabad and an attempt to chase the forest officials has yet again stressed on the need for arms and ammunition for the field staff.

In the Karjelly incident on Wednesday, apart from killing a farmer, the elephant had chased a forest team for over 200 metres. The field staff managed to escape unhurt. In November 2022, Chandrugonda Forest Range Officer Ch Srinivas Rao was brutally killed by Gutti Koya tribals in Kothagudem. Since then the State Forest Service Officers Association (SFSOA) has been appealing to the department to sanction weapons to field staff. A demand for provision of pistols to Forest Range Officers (FRO) rank and above and rifles to field-staff for self-protection was made to the department.

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Citing the Kerala Forest department, the SFSOA wanted establishment of forest stations at the Division Level with required staff and infrastructure. Each station should be headed by a FRO rank officer and supported by 18 personnel. The plan was to launch a pilot project in vulnerable areas of Asifabad, Adilabad, Khammam, Karimnagar and other places.

Admitting the delay, a senior forest official said the forest officials had to deposit their weapons with the police during the early 1990s in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, following a few incidents of snatching of some weapons by Naxalites.

The senior official also said a detailed report seeking sanction of arms and ammunition and measures for setting up forest stations was submitted to the government in the past.

Under this initiative, approval for total outlay of Rs.9.90 crore was sought from the government. This includes Rs. 4 crore for arms and ammunition and Rs.5.9 crore for 20 stations and other infrastructure, besides strengthening the 64 forest check posts across the State, the official said.

“The plea was almost accepted by the past government but due to different factors things got delayed. We are keeping our fingers crossed” the official added.