Sathyamangalam field director facing rebellion from staff

According to Forest Department insiders, Nihar Ranjan had suspended two rangers and a guard for not carrying riffles in the core jungle areas where elephants have recently killed villagers and foresters in the recent past. However, the department insiders have also complained to Panagal Buildings, the headquarters, stating that the IFS officer in an inebriated state assaulted an APW during the lockdown and often used abusive language against foresters.

Former MLA of Bhavani Sagar PL Sundaram had lodged a complaint against Nihar Ranjan to the Erode Collector.

In a relative development, Nihar Ranjan had reached out to the dept headquarters in Chennai, stating that he is targeted by foresters who are corrupt and erratic in duty. When contacted, Nihar Ranjan dismissed the complaint against him as a bundle of lies. “I have suspended three field staff for lacking in forest patrol and conservation. Most of the staff were hesitant to carry riffles in core jungle areas despite Sathyamangalam witnessing recent fatal wildlife conflicts by elephants. Over the past eight months, four people have died in such encounters. Rather than reaching out to the department seeking action against me, the disgruntled staff have formed a union and have started sharing abusive reports against me. These are against government norms and I have submitted my report to higher officials seeking action against the suspended staff, he said.

The IFS official further said that there is no proper complaint against him to date on assault and abuse of staff. As a senior officer, do I have the right to act against the errant staff or not, he asked. “For doing my job, I am being cornered by the errant staff,” he claimed. A senior forest official said that there has been three complaints and counter complains from STR in which the field staff were found guilty of malpractices. But, it is a fact that the field officer’s tone and interaction with subordinates was not polite and abusive at times. The Collector has dismissed a few charges against Ranjan as baseless. We need tough officers like him to ensure good administration, but he will be informed to mind his language,” the official noted.

A few months back, TN Forest Staff Association state president K Sivaprakasam had also complained that the STR field director was forcing the rangers to collect bribes, a charge that was denied by the field director.