Want a plum posting? Plant a sapling: Maharashtra forest department tells employees

The next time you see such youngsters going about their sapling plantation drives donrsquot be surprised to spot forest department staffers amongst them as well Pic for representationTherersquos nothing like the fear of losing out to instil a sense of accountability In the wake of heavy criticism over the statersquos depleting green cover the forest department has now come up with an ingenious idea to buck the trend compel its own staff to plant more saplings To ensure that its 28000 employees do not shirk this responsibility it has introduced a KRA key result area system to appraise their performance Two of the KRAs deal exclusively with increasing the forest coverEven the one IAS officer and over 100 IFS officers on the departmentrsquos rolls will not be sparedAppraisals determine the incentives mdash pay hikes promotions and postings mdash that employees getEarlier there was no fixed parameter for performance assessment Staffersrsquo future prospects were entirely in their bossesrsquo hands said a midrank official from the department ldquoEverything depended on how good the equations of an employee were with hisher seniorsrdquo The targetspecific assessment is expected to level the playing fieldA senior official with the department said employees will have to raise 13 crore seedlings by 2018 besides meeting 11 other criteria see tableThe move explained forest department secretary Vikas Kharge is to increase the green cover ensure effective wildlife management and tackle the effects of climate changeThe statersquos forest cover is around 50650 sq km based on interpretation of satellite data from OctoberDecember 2006 mdash around 17 per cent of the total geographical area ldquoWe want to increase it to 33 per cent by 2018 To achieve this goal the department has linked the KRAs of its staff to the targets set by the governmentrdquo said KhargeOf the 50650 sq km around 8740 sq km is covered with dense forests 20800 sq km with moderate forests and 21000 sq km with open forestsThumbsup from activistsEnvironmental activists laud the plan but are wary of its implementation Wildlife conservationist and photojournalist Kedar Bhide cautioned that its success would largely depend on how well the KRA system will be implemented ldquoWho will monitor or implement it Regardless from the point of preservation itrsquos a good moverdquo he saidEnvironmentalist Stalin D from NGO Vanashakti said the plan would also boost the morale of grassrootslevel staff ldquoThere is hardly any motivation for such forest department staff who are dedicated to preserving the wildlife and increasing the forest coverrdquoHe is worried that the KRA system might be misused to harass the junior staff ldquoBesides there needs to be a proper system that verifies KRAs submitted by officials and approved by hisher seniorsrdquo he suggestedChecks in placeThe system said Kharge will be foolproof ldquoThe forest department will use geotagging technology to track any change in the green coverrdquoHe said employeesrsquo performance assessment will be a threetier system to ensure effective and authentic submissions and clearances of KRAs ldquoFirst they will be reporting by the staff Then they will be a review of the KRAs The final step will be confirmation by the highest authorityrdquoIn Khargersquos case for instance the IAS officerrsquos report will be prepared by the chief secretary reviewed by the forest minister and finally approved by the chief minister only if he finds his work satisfactoryThe KRA forms will be have to be filled by employees in April and submitted to the superiors for review and approval the next monthMantralaya officials claimed that the idea of linking KRAs with targets was the brainchild of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis In 2008 the then CongressNCPled DF government had introduced a forest policy to enhance the statersquos green cover But despite spending over R6000 crore in eight to nine years on implementing the policy the results fell short of the expectations mdash in terms of creating a green fund taking over private forest areas notifying private forest and protectedreserved areas public awareness drives and monitoring the growth of saplings6No of national parks in state48No of sanctuaries6No of tiger reservesKRA TargetPlantation of forest and nonforest areas46229 L seedlings40757 hectaresNew villages to be adopted under Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Jan Van Vikas Yojana150Proposals on ecosensitive zones to be submitted10No seedlings of to be raised for plantation in 2017 and 201813 croreNo of villages to be rehabiliated from protected areas4a Sanction of notification to declare reserve forest300 sq kmb Completion of enquiry and sanction of final notification350 sq kmTripartite agreements with industrial houses and NGOs to increase green cover5Uploading of digitised maps on diverted forest area and compensatory afforestation30a Proposals on draft working plan report12b Preliminary working plan reports10a Digitisation of land records and uploading of notifications3800b Validation of land database20000 sq kmTree credit scheme to plant and protect trees on private landPolicy decision to be takenDisposal of matters pertaining to legislatureNot fixed