A section of aspirants for the post of Forest Rangers has called for amending eligibility norms under the Tamil Nadu Forest Subordinate Service Rules. Presently, the first preference is given to candidates with a bachelor’s degree in Forestry.

The rules mandate that students with a bachelors’ degree in allied subjects could be considered for the post of Forest Apprentice or Ranger only if the vacancies are not filled by candidates who have a degree in forestry. The Forestry degree programme is, incidentally, offered only by the Forest College and Research Institute in Mettupalayam.

Consequently, degree holders in subjects such as zoology and wildlife biology, contend they have almost zero chance of aspiring to be posted as Forest Rangers.

“This, despite a 2023 Madras High Court order striking down an amendment to the Tamil Nadu Forest Subordinate Services Rules, which excluded preferential treatment for post-graduate degree holders in wildlife biology,” said a student from the Government Arts College in Udhagamandalam. The student said despite the order being passed and the government being directed to include a post-graduate degree in Wildlife Biology along with B.Sc Forestry students to be given first preference for the post of rangers, the government has failed to act on it.

“At the moment, students from wildlife biology departments in the two colleges in the State offering the programmes can only hope to join NGOs as biologists, ecologists or corporate companies to be part of teams undertaking environmental impact assessments and so on,” said another student.

A senior faculty member said while the students of the Forest College in Coimbatore have a deep understanding of silviculture and management of woodlands as a resource, the wildlife biology students are better equipped at managing wildlife, negative human-animal interactions and other facets of modern ecology management.

C. Badrasamy, a retired DFO, said the existing policy has destroyed the heterogeneity of the forest department’s mid-range pool of staff. Mr. Badrasamy said it was almost impossible for students who did not obtain a B.Sc Forestry degree to become forest rangers.

“This leads to a lack of diversity in ideas and solutions to problems,” he said, adding forest rangers are more than just forest managers. “They are also ‘engineers’ who have to build infrastructure, help to prosecute cases, and also fulfil the role of investigators in solving wildlife crimes,” he said, calling on the government to reassess the policy.

Students contended that the policy tilted in favour of B.Sc Forestry graduates violated Article 16 of the Constitution by depriving people of equal opportunities.

They felt it was a fallacy to assume that forestry graduates were the most competent at fulfilling the role of a ranger. According to the students, their analysis of success rates of applicants for posts of foresters, forest guards and Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACFs), which are open to all candidates who take the TNPSC competitive exams, showed in 2019 that only one out of 323 selected foresters was a forestry graduate, while only one such graduate was selected as an ACF. “This shows non-forestry graduates are equally competent, perhaps even more so to be selected to work as forest staff, and shows government policy must shift to include parity for non-forestry graduates for rangers’ posts,” said a former student of wildlife biology, who works in Udhagamandalam as a taxi driver.

Another retired Forest Department head said the role of a forest ranger was a “multidisciplinary science,” that involved understanding local flora, fauna, geology, soil science, forest economy, yield and other disciplines of science. “By opening up the service to other science graduates, competitiveness and competency can be greatly increased,” he said. The government should consider limiting the number of vacancies to students from B.Sc Forestry backgrounds, so that the department can be equipped with candidates who have a basis in other sciences that can be transferred to their roles within the Forest Department.

According to him, familiarity between the rangers, who are all mostly former students of the forest college in Mettupalayam, almost renders transfers between rangers “irrelevant” as such familiarity leads to a deterioration in administrative efficacy and neutrality and such a system fosters a nexus between rangers and local pressure groups.