Madikeri:
In order to utilise the experiences of the senior officers in the department and get them into field work, the State Government has upgraded all the 13 Forest Circles in the state to the level of CCF (Chief Conservator of Forests) Office from the Conservator of Forests, with effect from December 24, 2011.

Kodagu got the upgradation in the first list, others being Mangalore, Belgaum, Uttarakannada and Chikmagalur district’s Forest Circles and the district also got a new Chief Conservator of Forests in the form of J N Raj who took office on December 31, 2011. Raj told Express that the upgradation will help people, as the CCF level official work will be done here and the rest will be sent to Bangalore for their consent.

The rules and guidelines will become more clear, once the scope and limits of the office will be made public, he added. He added that he will first study the situation thoroughly here and plan accordingly, since the expectations of the people will be more once the office gets upgraded. He said that the vacancies in the department and man-elephant conflict will be the big challenges before the Forest Department.

Once the summer approaches, instances of wild fire will be more, which will make the elephants come out in search for water and food. As a result, they may scatter from the group and pass through residential areas and estates leading to crop loss, human and elephants deaths.

source: http://www.ibnlive.com / South> Karnataka / Express News Service / The New Indian Express / posted January 05th, 2011