No respite to SFC employees amid COVID spread

Before issuing repealing order to wind up the erstwhile J&K State Forest Corporation (SFC) in March this year, the central government should have simultaneously issued an order over the adjustment of thousands of SFC (State Forest Corporation) employees also but amid COVID-19 crisis the government has left thousands of SFC employees to fend for themselves and the decision is overdue now keeping in view the upcoming religious festival of Eid –ul- Fitr. While the fact remains that Jammu and Kashmir is known for it’s huge forest area and the diversity of forest ecosystem, the central government without taking on board the stakeholders issued the repeal order to put on greater risk the jobs of more than 2500 employees. While the central government takes path breaking decisions on new domicile law and fresh delimitation of the assembly constituencies, the delays and deferments over the future SFC employees are questionable on many counts but no explanations are sought from the government either by opposition leaders or the parliament members sitting on the opposition benches in the parliament, the highest law making body of the country. Though the most suitable option for the government could be the adjustment of SFC employees in the forest department but government is not dropping even a hint over the possibility of adjusting employees of disbanded SFC in forest department.
Delays and deferments would by all standards of understandabilities further intensify the anger brewing up among both the employees and the stake holders connected with the operations of the disbanded State Forest Corporation.
Ironically the government does not discuss even the option of extending the offer of Volunteery Retirement Scheme (VRS) to the SFC employees. As the employees are running out of pockets amid ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the clueless top brass of the forest department does not tend to even offer an assurance to the SFC employees. After the repealing order a new strategy for carrying out the operations of the disbanded State Forest Corporation (SFC) can’t be delayed and deferred for months and years together but an immediate action plan has to be put in place for continuing the operations of the disbanded State Forest Corporation. Government may be taking pleasure in punishing the employees of disbanded SFC but keeping the operations of the disband SFC on suspension mode may prove disastrous for the diversity of the forest ecosystem. To secure the future of thousands of the SFC employees and forest ecosystem there is not short cut to take initiatives after discussing the available options with all the stakeholders. Delays and deferments would by all standards of understandabilities further intensify the anger brewing up among both the employees and the stake holders connected with the operations of the disbanded State Forest Corporation.