[Administration, IFS Cadre Management, Internal Work Study, Public Grievance Cell, Vigilance Desk, Use of Hindi ,Civil Construction, Plan Coordination and Budget]
The strength of the Ministry including the National Afforestation and Eco Development Board (NAEB) and the National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD) at the Headquarters is 1206 (Group A : 249, Group B, 302, Group C : 405, Group D: 250)
A statement showing the reservation of posts for SC’s, ST’s and OBC in the Ministry is given at Table - 21.
Reservation of Posts For SCs, STs and OBCs in the Ministry
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sl Group No. of No. in No. of SC % of total No. of ST % of Total No. of % of Total No. Posts position Employees No. of SC employees No. of ST OBC No. of OBC Sanctioned employees employees employees employees in position in position in position ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Group A 249 214 15 7.01% 16 7.47% - - 2. Group B 302 246 20 8.13% 7 2.84% 1 0.40% 3. Group C 405 352 43 12.21% 14 3.69% 13 3.69% 4. Group D (Excluding Safaiwala) 221 204 76 37.25% 16 7.84% 8 3.92% 5. Group D (Safaiwala) 29 29 29 100% - - - - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 1206 1045 183 17.51% 53 5.07% 22 2.11% -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The modified scheme of Flexible Complementing (FCs) notified by Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) during November, 1998, detailing the personnel policies for Group ‘A’ Scientific Officers is under finalisation and implementation in this Ministry.
Under the modified Flexible Complementing Scheme (FCs), involving a two-tier system of evaluation, 57 scientists of the Ministry have already been screened till 31.12.1999 (during 1999-2000) for review becoming due as on 1.1.1999 and 1.7.1999. These cases are being processed further for final assessment promotions.
Indian Forest Service Cadre Management
The Ministry is the "Cadre Controlling Authority" for the Indian Forest Service (IFS) an All India Service. This service consists of 21 State Cadres (including three Joint Cadres, namely the Assam-Meghalaya, Manipur-Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh - Goa - Mizoram Union Territories (AGMUT) Present authorized strength of the Service is 2756.
The works relating to the recruitment to the Indian Forest Service, induction through promotion from the State Forest Service Cadres, Cadre Reviews for revising the composition and strength of IFS of various Cadres, allocation of IFS probationers to various State cadres, determination of year of allotment of Promotee Officers and inter-se seniority, selection / appointment of I.F.S. personnel against Central Deputation Reserve forestry posts / Central Deputation Secretariat positions under Central Bodies including ICFRE, Dehra Dun, IIFM, Bhopal, Wildlife Institute, Dehra Dun finalisation of service matters like post retirement benefits, inter-cadre transfers and promotions / transfers and postings and other related service matters are dealt in the Indian Forest Division in the Ministry.
During the year, Cadre Review revising the strength and composition of the Kerala and West Bengal Cadres were conducted and necessary notifications have been issued by the Department of Personnel and Training on 2nd and 3rd November 1999 respectively. Thirty direct recruits and 43 State Forest Service Officers under the I.F.S. promotion regulations have been inducted into the Service during the year. Twenty five IFS officers from the State Cadres have been appointed to man central forestry posts at the Centre against the Central deputation Reserve Twenty four Officers. (Seventeen direct recruit and seven promotee) were confirmed during the year.
Fifty one IFS officers promoted from the State Forest Service under the I.F.S. (Appointment by promotion) Regulation, 1966, have been imparted induction training at the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy.
On an average, about 35 questions were answered by this Ministry on each Question Day allotted to the Ministry in the Lok Sabha and also in the Rajya Sabha. The questions covered a wide range of issues with which the Ministry are concerned, prominent among them being conservation of wildlife, pollution related issues, preservation and extension of forest cover, environmental clearance of developmental and industrial projects etc.
O&M Activities
The Internal Work study Unit (IWSU) of the Ministry continued its normal activities aimed at ensuring timely action by various sections on records management, maintenance of memory and retrieval aids, and strict compliance with various provisions of the Manual of Office Procedure. O&M Inspection programmes were drawn up and follow up action for rectifying the defects pointed out in the inspection reports was taken.
Training of LDCs / UDCs
In pursuance of the instructions issued by Deptt. of Personnel & Training, a programme for providing training to LDCs and UDCs had been drawn up to improve the quality of work. Under this decentralised scheme, one training programme for UDCs was conducted during the months of July, 99. Fifteen UDCs of this Ministry have been trained on office procedure / parliamentary procedure.
Award Scheme
In pursuance of the instructions issued by Deptt. of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, a scheme for innovative suggestions that could lead to financial savings, improved efficiency and public satisfaction in Govt. Offices has been launched in this Ministry. Some suggestions have been received from the general public as well as from the officials of this Ministry and other Deptts, of the Govt. of India. These suggestions are under consideration with the evaluation committee constituted under the chairmanship of JS (Admin). The officials / general public, whose suggestions are found innovative, will be awarded a cash reward of Rs. 10,000/-.
Delegation of Powers and Channel of submission
In pursuance of the instructions issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, the instructions regarding delegation of administrative powers to lower formations and channel of submission of cases are to be reviewed after every three years. For this purpose, this Ministry has constituted a "Task Force" under the chairmanship of JS (Admn.) to review the above instructions.
Record Management Activities
In pursuance of the instructions issued by National Archives of India, all the 25 Offices under this Ministry have nominated their Record Officers and 17 Record Officers have already availed of the one week training programme on Record Management from National Archives of India (NAI).
Ninety one files of ‘A’ Category lying in the Departmental Record Room of this Ministry have been apprised by NAI and out of these five files, which qualify for permanent preservation, have been micro-filmed by national Archives of India (NAI).
Grievance Cell was constituted in Oct, 91, to attend the complaints of public regarding environmental problems. JS(Admn.) has been nominated as Public Grievance Officer of this Ministry. The particulars of the Public Grievances Officer of this Ministry are as under :-
Joint Secretary, (Admn)
Room No. 626, 6th Floor,
Paryavaran Bhawan
CGO Complex, Lodhi Road
New Delhi - 110003.
Tel : 4362551
The general public can meet the above Public Grievances Officer on every Wednesday from 10:00 A.M. to 1.00 P.M. A Press release has also been issued in this regard. Apart from this, all the Officers of the level of Ds and above of the Ministry have also been advised to observe every Wednesday as "Meeting Less Day" and meet the general public from 10.00 am to 1.00 pm on this day.
The main function of the Cell is to ensure timely redressal of Public Grievances, which is being done by taking up the matter by the concerned Divisions with the concerned authorities such as District Magistrates, Municipal Corporations, Pollution Control Boards and State Governments. Most of the complaints relate to:
unauthorized industries located in residential areas discharging harmful gases and hazardous effluents in the immediate neighbourhood;
environmental degradation due to mismanagement of civic amenities like location of waste dump, water logging, etc;
Commercial establishments operating illegally in the residential buildings causing nuisance to people living in the immediate vicinity.
All the 25 offices under the Ministry have nominated their Public Grievances officers and grievances received in their offices are being redressed as per time-schedule.
The public Grievance Redress Mechanism of this Ministry was earlier reviewed in the year 1996 by the Deptt. of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances. Recommendations made by Deptt. of AR & PG have already been implemented by this Ministry. Later the Grievance Redressal mechanism of the Ministry was reviewed by the Standing Committee of Secretaries on Grievance Redress on 26.11.99 under the chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary.
Secretary (E&F) took a meeting of the Grievance officers of the Ministry on 30.12.99 to strengthen the existing Grievance Redressal Mechanism in the subordinate offices / autonomous organizations etc. under the Ministry. The following directions have been given by secretary (E&F) for strict compliance of Public Grievances officers of all offices under this Ministry.
All the guidelines as laid down by the Cabinet Secretary in 1988 may be followed strictly by all Public Grievances officers.
A system should be devised so that all the grievances received are disposed off within a reasonable time frame and that the system should give full satisfaction to general public.
All the Public Grievance Officers may send their feed back in respect of their PGRM shortly.
A committee under the chairmanship of Director (A) has been constituted to frame a Mother Charter for the Ministry which will be adopted by the subordinate offices / autonomous bodies etc. to frame their own Citizens Charter.
During the year, 169 Grievances were received from the general public. Majority of these complaints / grievances relate to pollution control.
The Office Council of the Ministry of Environment & Forests constituted under the JCM Scheme continued its activities. During the year, two meetings of the Office Council were held to discuss and sort out various matters pertaining to the staff.
The Vigilance Desk of the Ministry is functioning under the direct control and supervision of Director (Vig) and overall control of JS/CVOO. The main activities of the vigilance desk relate to examination and processing of disciplinary cases relating to IFS officer of all State / UT cadres as well as in respect of officers and staff of the Ministry of Environment & Forests and its attached and subordinate offices. The desk also deals with complaints of corruption etc. The Desk also deals with cases of suspension, appeal and review in the matter of disciplinary cases against various officers. Beside these, court cases filed in connection with disciplinary matters are also dealt with. Other important functions of the Desk relate to receipt and processing of annual property returns, grant of vigilance clearances, seeking advise of UPSC/CVC in disciplinary matters etc.
During the year , 13 new disciplinary cases were received from various State Governments which are under process at various stages and 20 old and long pending disciplinary cases were processed and brought to the stage of final decision. Out of these seven cases have been decided and the remaining cases are being pursued actively for taking a final decision at the earliest.
During the year, several steps have been taken to improve and streamline the functioning of vigilance desk like posting of additional staff on temporary basis to dispose of on priority basis old and long pending cases, installation of computer, creating better storage capacity for records, review of old records etc. Overall emphasis is being given to quickly process and liquidate old and long pending disciplinary cases. Efforts are also being made to computerize as much information is possible so as to streamline and improve the functioning of the desk keeping in tune with the modernization trends in the government machinery.
Hindi is being progressively used as official language in the Ministry. One meeting of Hindi Salahkar Samiti was held in July 1999 rendering advice for proper implementation of the official language policy in the ministry and its subordinate offices. Quarterly meetings of the official Language Implementation Committee were held to monitor and review the overall implementation of the official language policy in the ministry. Suitable instructions were given to the officers of the Ministry as well as to Heads of the subordinate offices to increase the use of Hindi in official works.
Golden Jubilee Celebration of Rajbhasha Hindi
To mark the Golden Jublee Celebrations of the official language of the Union commencing from 14th November, 1999, various programmes including competitions like noting, drafting, quiz etc. were organised. An essay competition at the all India level was also organised and 65 officials were awarded for the best performance.
All sections of the Ministry were inspected to ensure effective implementation of the official language policy. Officers participated in the meetings of Delhi based subordinate offices and their progress regarding use of Hindi in official work was revised. To ensure effective implementation of official language annual programme, check points on each items were made.
Incentive for Original Writings on Environment in Hindi
The scheme introduced to encourage original and creative writings in Hindi on subjects related to environment, forests and wildlife was continued. Through publications of an advertisement in leading Hindi & English newspapers 18 entries have been received which is an all time record. The evaluation committee was constituted to review the books and made suggestions for prizes. Four books were selected and given prizes. First, Second, Third and consolation prizes worth Rs. 25,000, Rs. 20,000 Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 10,000 respectively were awarded in a special function by Hon’ble Minister on World Environment Day viz. 5th June, 1999.
Incentive Scheme for doing internal work in Hindi
The scheme for noting, drafting in Hindi continued during the year. Total number of 22 officer employees participated in the scheme. Cash prizes were given to 18 officials.
Training in Hindi and Organising Workshops
One personnel was undergoing Hindi Shorthand training and two personnel passed typing exams, of them one achieved outstanding rank.
Adequate efforts were made to eliminate hesitation among the officials to do official work in Hindi. For this purpose three workshops were organised in which 15 officers and 24 UDCs were trained.
During the year, 16436 pages of important documents including answers to Parliament Questions, Cabinet Notes, Rules, Regulation etc, were translated from English to Hindi and vice-versa and vetted. Speeches and notes for the Minister were also prepared in Hindi.
Indira Gandhi Rajbhasha Shield
The Ministry was awarded the first Indira Gandhi Rajbhasha Shield for its excellent performance of the official language policy of the Union for the year 1997-98.
This unit was created in August, 1987 for taking up civil construction works of various wings of the Ministry and its attached and subordinate offices as well as autonomous organisations funded Botanical Survey of India, Zoological Survey of India.
The unit has three working divisions; two located at Delhi and one at Bangalore. The sub-divisions are located at Delhi, Dehradun, Shimla, Jodhpur, Jabalpur, Bhopal, Chhindwara, Bangalore, Coimbatore and Hyderabad for execution of various projects. 118 projects have been handled so far costing Rs. 160/- crores. The works on eastern and western parts of the country are executed through CPWD.
The use of primary timber has been stopped in all the projects and in its place wood substitutes are being used. For effecting economy in electricity, compact fluorescent lamps are used in common places of office buildings and laboratories. Solar water heating system is provided in hostels to save electricity Some of the important buildings completed during the year are :
Executive Hostel for IIFM at Bhopal
Office cum laboratory building (Phase II for AFRI at Jodhpur and
Library cum information centre for IFRI at Jabalpur.
Details of work completed by CCU during the year are:
Executive Hostel of IIFM at Bhopal.
Boundary wall with grill for Regional office complex at Bhopal.
Improvement of Internal roads in NZP, New Delhi.
Library cum information center for IFRI at Jabalpur.
Compound wall with fencing and grill for BSI at Jodhpur.
Approach road to Himalayan Forests Research Institutes at Shimla.
Flood protection works and approach road for G.B. Pant Inst at Kullu.
Renovation of Roxburgh Bldg at 1B G Shibpur, Howrah (Ph-I).
Car parking area work of IBG , Howrah.
Office cum lab building for A.P Field Station, ZSI at Itanagar.
Water supply connection for AFS, BSI at Itanagar.
12 Nos. residential quarters for ZSI at Itanagar.
22 Nos. residential quarters for BSI at Itanagar.
Boundary wall and gate for ZSI at Itanagar
Partition of office building at CGO complex for FSI at Nagpur.
Provided. Built up boards / workrobes and shelves in the office of FSI at Nagpur.
Provided False ceiling and walling inside two culture rooms of Tissue culture lab for BSI at Barapani, Shillong.
Compound wall around Eastern Regional Station for ZSI at Shillong.
Approach road to office cum lab bldg. of ZSI at Shilling.
Provided Bore well at Vizag (World Bank Aided)
Raising and modification of existing moat and filling dry moat in front of Banthong enclosure at NPZ, New Delhi.
Office cum lab building (Phase II) for AFRI, Jodhpur (World Bank Aided)
Boundary wall around Botanical Garden at Nodia.
The Plan Coordination Division is responsible for the coordination of all plan schemes and programmes of the Ministry in close association with the Planning Commission. This involves preparation, monitoring and review of Five year Plans, Annual Plans and the Annual Action Plans of the Ministry. The Division also looks after the monitoring of progress reports and reports under the 20-Point Programme (Point 16 & 17).
An amount of Rs. 3013.84 crores has been allocated to the Ministry for its Ninth Five Year Plan (1997-2002). The Annual Plans 1997-98 and 1998-99 of the Ministry provided for outlays of Rs. 543.70 crores and Rs. 704.09 crores respectively. The current year’s Annual Plan, 1999-2000, has been allocated an outlay of Rs. 700.00 crores. The sector-wise break-up of approved outlays is given in Table-22.
Ninth Plan and Annual Plan Outlays - Ministry of Environment and Forests
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sl. Sector Outlay VIII Plan IX Plan Annual Plan No. Outlay Outlay 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Environment 325.00 859.84 80.00 125.00 198.00 210.91 191.50 2. National River 350.00 700.00 79.00 106.00 109.00 191.70 200.00 Conservation Dte. 3. Forests & Wildlife 250.00 854.00 107.50 148.40 144.70 209.13 215.00 4. National Afforestation 275.00 600.00 104.00 90.00 92.00 92.35 93.50 & Eco-development Board -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 1200.00 3013.84 370.50 469.40 543.70 704.09 700.00 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As against the above approved outlays, the actual expenditure, year-wise and sector-wise is given in Table-23. A graphical depiction of progress of plan outlay/expenditure during the period 1995-96 to 1999-2000 is given in Figure 85. Similarly, sectoral shares in Annual Plan 1999-2000 are given in Figure 86.
Actual Plan Expenditue - Annual Plans
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sl. No. Sector Outlay 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Environment 62.99 124.18 114.80 115.46 153.62 2. National River 42.09 121.53 99.40 108.00 160.00 Conservation Dte. 3. Forests & Wildlife 98.37 95.58 124.01 172.74 200.40 4. National Afforestation 93.18 87.55 68.31 71.80 95.98 & Eco-development Board ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Total 296.63 428.84 406.52 468.00 610.00 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Anticipated
The progesss of plan scheme are reviewed regularly in the Ministry and necessary corrective action is taken to ensure proper implementation of these schemes.
For the Annual Plan 2000-2001 Ministry has been allocated an outlay of Rs. 850.00 crores as per the following sectoral break-up :
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(Rs. crores)
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1. Environment 229.90
2. National River Conservation Dte. 210.05
3. Forests & Wildlife 258.05
4. National Afforestation and Eco-development Board 152.00
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Total 850.00
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