GUWAHATI: Environment and Forest Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah on Monday, June 22, chaired a high-level review meeting of the Assam Forest Department at the Assam Administrative Staff College, Khanapara, with the Special Chief Secretary of the department also in attendance.
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The meeting brought together officials from all Territorial Divisions of the department to assess progress, discuss key challenges and strengthen conservation and forest management efforts across the state.
Speaking at the meeting, Minister Baruah made corruption in the department the centrepiece of his address, delivering a pointed warning against the practice of transferring officials in exchange for money. The minister acknowledged that postings and transfers had in the past been carried out against payments ranging from ₹20 lakh to ₹60 lakh, calling the practice unacceptable and vowing to put a firm end to it.
Baruah also turned the spotlight on how administrative pressure to meet royalty revenue targets has rippled down through the department, often resulting in harassment of ordinary citizens through arbitrary fines.
He cautioned that officials at various levels of the administration must not allow revenue targets to become a pretext for penalising people, and called for a review of irregularities in revenue collection practices.
Underlining the importance of rotation and accountability, the minister directed that all department employees must be prepared for transfer upon completion of a three-year posting at any single location. He further stated that personnel from Territorial Divisions may be transferred to Wildlife wings as part of regular duty assignments, signalling a more flexible and need-based deployment policy going forward.
The review meeting was convened to take stock of forest management and conservation work across Assam, with divisional officials presenting their progress reports. The gathering served as a platform to align the department's field operations with the government's policy priorities, while addressing systemic issues that have long undermined institutional trust.