Nagpur:- Taking a cue from the revocation of the suspension of Range Forest Officer (RFO) Sachin Shinde from Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR), two more suspended forest workers have requested reinstatement.
On July 16, Shinde, round officer Charanlal Balpande, and forest guard Ashwini Munde were suspended by the deputy director of the park Poonam Pate for their involvement in irregularities worth Rs29 lakh. Pate took action under section 4 of the Maharashtra Civil Services (Discipline & Appeal) Law, 1979.
However, on 23 July Shinde lodged a complaint with the PCCF (Forest Force Head) N Rambabu and the Maharashtra Forest Rangers’ Association (MFRA) also represented his case arguing that the Maharashtra Civil Services (Discipline & Appeal) rules do not notify the Deputy Director of the power to suspend him.
In support of Shinde ‘s view, PCCF Rambabu revoked the suspension and placed the ball in the court of forest and field director NNTR’s conservator who is the competent authority to take action. “A deputy conservator (DyCF) or Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) and deputy director of social forestry are qualified to take action according to the law,” Rambabu said.
