Stalin hands over appointment orders to 1,304 forest staff

As many as 1,304 newly recruited frontline forest personnel were given appointment orders by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin during the World Environment Day event held by the Departments of Environment, Climate Change, and Forests, in Chennai on Thursday.
A total of 1,411 recruits were selected through the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission's exams conducted in June 2024. They included 515 forest guards, 192 forest guards with driving licence, and 684 forest watchers.
While a total of 1,358 recruits have already reported to their respective divisions, 1,238 were present at the function to formally receive their appointment orders. An additional 66 recruits selected for the Tamil Nadu Forest Plantation Corporation (TAFCORN), also participated in the event. This recruitment is the first large-scale induction into the department since the previous round held between 2019 and 2021, which saw the appointment of only 372 personnel.
The Chief Minister also laid the foundation for the Research and Development Centre of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), to be constructed in Guindy at an estimated cost of ₹44 crore. It will house facilities for ambient air quality monitoring, emissions and wastewater monitoring, biomedical and hazardous waste surveillance, and will also feature an integrated environmental laboratory and monitoring unit.
Fishnet recovery
Mr. Stalin also inaugurated 14 Fishnet Recovery Centres set up in Tamil Nadu's coastal districts as part of the Tamil Nadu Sustainable Habitat for Ocean and Resources Enhancement initiative. These centres, established at a cost of ₹1.75 crore, aim to retrieve abandoned fishing nets from the sea, which pose a serious threat to marine ecosystems. Fishermen involved in collecting these discarded nets are compensated between ₹40 and ₹46 per kg, including a ₹4-₹6 incentive. As of now, over 17,044 kg of fishing nets and plastic waste have been retrieved, with 10,700 kg already recycled, an official release said.
To honour exceptional contributions to environmental protection, Mr. Stalin presented awards to top-performing Collectors and District Forest Officers. As many as 38 individuals received the Chief Minister's Waterbody Conservator Award along with ₹1 lakh cash prize. Five industries were recognised with Voluntary Green Rating Certificate for eco-friendly operations and social responsibility.
Finance and Environment Minister Thangam Thennarasu, MSME Minister T.M. Anbarasan, Forests Minister R.S. Rajakannappan, Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary to Departments of Environment, Climate Change, and Forests, and diplomats from various countries, including Deputy High Commissioner of the U.K. Halima Holland, were present.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

The Hindu

3 hours ago

• The Hindu

Ban on single-use plastic to be enforced on Chamundi Hills

Minister for Forests, Ecology, and Environment Eshwar Khandre has instructed the Forest Department to make Chamundi Hills free from single-use plastic. The Minister, in a written directive to the Additional Chief Secretary of the Department of Forest and Environment, said that Chamundi Hills is visited by lakhs of people during Ashada Fridays and throughout the Ashada month. Hence, the use of single-use plastic should be avoided to ensure that there was no negative impact on the environment, the Minister said. He has instructed authorities to ensure that no shops on the hill use plastic carry bags during the Ashada period. The Forest Department has been directed to take the district administration and the local police into confidence in implementing the directives. The ban extends to the use of single-use plastic items like carry bags, plastic plates, cups, spoons, water bottles, etc., on the hill.

Time of India

2 days ago

• Time of India

Official suspended for poor construction of govt office building

T richy: An assistant engineer in the rural development department has been suspended for failing to follow guidelines in the construction of a panchayat office near Thanjavur. The plaster in the building's ceiling came off after the chief minister inaugurated the office via video conference earlier this week. The panchayat office in Suryanar Kovil in Thiruvidaimaruthur block in Thanjavur district was constructed for 30 lakh under Anaithu Grama Anna Marumalarchi Thittam (AGAMT) state govt scheme. Stalin opened various completed projects, including the aforementioned office, via video conference on June 15. After the opening, work was carried out to mount ceiling fans inside the office. However, to the shock of everyone, the plaster in the ceiling started coming off. On June 19, senior officials from the rural development and panchayat raj department conducted an inspection. They found that the technical guideline of 'applying two coats of ceiling putty plastering' issued last year had not been followed during the construction. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 2025 Top Trending Local Enterprise Accounting Software [Click Here] Accounting ERP Click Here Undo Action was subsequently taken to rectify the error. In a statement on Friday, the Thanjavur district administration said that technical guidelines were reminded multiple times in various meetings conducted by the project director of DRDA, district collector, additional chief secretary, and commissioner in charge of the rural development and panchayat raj department. The statement confirmed that the assistant engineer in charge of the panchayat office construction in Suryanar Kovil did not follow the guidelines. Hence, the official was suspended based on the recommendations of the district collector. An explanation was also sought from two assistant engineers for the negligence. Thanjavur district collector B Priyanka Pankajam instructed the technical guidelines to be followed during the construction of all govt office buildings in the future.

Time of India

4 days ago

• Time of India

Chennai Metro Rail: Stalin Inspects Chennai Metro's Tallest Viaduct, Pushes for Accelerated Completion, ET Infra

Urban Transportation 1 min read Stalin reviews Chennai Metro's tallest viaduct at Kathipara, urges faster execution The viaduct would integrate with the existing flyover and other corridors at the junction in the existing Phase I network.