Mumbai: Labourers get reservations for forest guard posts

A forest labourer driving a buggy at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, the individual will now be eligible for reservation for Group C & D posts

In a landmark case, the division bench of Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal (MAT), Mumbai bench recently pronounced a verdict in favour of daily wage forest labourers, who sought direction to avail 10 per cent parallel reservation for appointment by direct recruitment in response to a recent advertisement to fill in over six thousand posts across Maharashtra.

The case
"The six individuals (applicants)were employed as daily-wage forest labourers across various territorial areas under the chief conservators of forests and were living in Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), Pune, and Nanded districts of Maharashtra. They requested permission to utilise the 10 per cent parallel reservation outlined in the Government Resolution (GR), Revenue and Forest Department, dated October 16, 2012, for their recruitment to Group-C positions as forest guards, as advertised on June 8, 2023, by the principal chief conservator of forests, said Advocate Rajeshwar Panchal.

"The advocates representing the applicants highlighted that an advertisement was issued for direct recruitment to 2,138 Group C forest guard positions across all eleven chief conservators of forest territorial jurisdictions. Additionally, 266 positions were to be filled in Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai. In Thane district, out of these 266 positions, 24 forest guard posts are reserved under a 10 per cent parallel reservation for daily forest labourers, contingent upon producing a certificate from the respective divisional forest officers/Dy Conservators of Forest as per the provisions of the GR dated October 16, 2012," Panchal added.

240 days of work in 5 years
The advocate argued that forest guards require a minimum education level of 12 std, with an age range of 18 to 55 for daily wage forest labourers, who receive no relaxation in physical test requirements. The GR aims to regularise the services of daily-wage forest labourers who worked at least 240 days from November 1, 1994, to June 30, 2004, by absorbing them into 5089 supernumerary Group D posts.

Discrimination
The advocates argued that daily wage forest labourers, despite not meeting the 240-day work criteria between November 11, 1994, and June 30, 2004, were serving in the Forest Department by June 30, 2004. They argued for the inclusion of these labourers in the 5,089 newly created supernumerary posts in Group D. They emphasised the need for clarity regarding the entitlement of 10 per cent parallel reservation in direct recruitment for Group C and D posts after June 30, 2004.

Other side
Advocate Swati Manchekar, Chief Presenting Officer (CPO) for the state's Forest Department, emphasised that daily wage forest labourers seeking to benefit from the 10 per cent parallel reservation for direct recruitment to Group C and D posts must have worked at least 240 days in any five years before June 30, 2004, as stated in an affidavit from the deputy director (South) of Sanjay Gandhi National Park. She clarified that employment opportunities for temporary forest department employees does not require the same pre-eligibility conditions as the absorption into the newly created 5089 supernumerary Group D posts.

MAT Observation
Justice Mridula Bhatkar, Chairperson, and Debashish Chakrabarty, Member, found the condition of 240 days' work in any five years, imposed by an office circular, to be discriminatory and violative of Article 16 of the Indian Constitution. They ordered that this condition be removed from all posts of Group C and Group D under the Forest Department, as it unfairly limits employment opportunities.

Advocate Rajeshwar Panchal, applicants lawyer

Advocate Speak
Advocate Rajeshwar Panchal, who appeared for one set of applicants, said, "The Tribunal allowed the case observing and holding that the applicants are entitled to avail the reservation. The tribunal discarded the misinterpretation of the GR done by the government lawyer. The misinterpretation was that even to avail of the reservation, the candidate must fulfil the criteria of having done service for 240 days in a year for the period of five years between 1994-2004.

6
No of individuals that filed the case