Despite the Haryana govt’s latest transfer and posting orders reshuffling Indian Forest Service (IFoS) and Haryana Forest Service (HFoS) officers across forest divisions, training institutes, wildlife wings, headquarters, and Haryana Forest Development Corporation (HFDC), the ground is: control of key forest divisions remains largely unchanged. A closer analysis of the Feb 20 order exposes a cadre mismatch between sanctioned cadre posts and actual postings.
That is the reason why, despite the reshuffle, a large number of IFoS officers remain in non-field or supervisory roles, even though their primary mandate is territorial forest management. Several officers continue in HFDC, headquarters-linked assignments, training or research posts, or against vacant and interim positions.
Several IFoS officers are posted to the positions officially earmarked as HFoS cadre posts. These include DFO (seed collection), Pinjore, GM HFDC, Kurukshetra, DCF Rewari, and Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) (training) at Sohna and Pinjore. The order itself annotates these posts as belonging to the State Service cadre, yet IFoS officers man them. As a result, All-India Service officers remain concentrated in monitoring, training, and specialised roles rather than senior territorial field positions.
Similarly, the reverse arrangement continues in frontline divisions. State Service officers are posted as Divisional Forest Officers (DFOs) in territorial divisions designated as IFoS cadre posts, which include Pinjore, Yamunanagar, and Nuh. The analysis of the order flagged these as senior IFS field postings, but HFoS officers continue to hold them after relieving IFoS officers.
The order also clarifies that DFO (HQ) is an HFoS cadre post, despite being a supervisory assignment, pointing to how cadre officers and posts are freely interchanged rather than aligned.
Haryana has 16 sanctioned DCF posts, the senior-most field positions meant to be held strictly by IFS officers. At present, only nine of these posts are occupied by cadre officers, with the remaining divisions run by HFoS officers, despite the fact that trained IFoS officers are available and waiting for posting.
The IFS Officers’ Association, in its representation to the Chief Secretary, on Feb 19, said the arrangement violates the IFS (Cadre) Rules, 1966, which require sanctioned IFS posts to be filled by cadre officers. Non-cadre appointments are allowed only in exceptional or temporary situations and require the central government’s approval if they continue beyond three months. The association said no such approval was obtained.
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