Dearth of Technical Manpower at CPCB - A serious concern

[KANNA KUMAR SIRIPURAPU]

An excerpt from an interview with Dr. B. Sengupta, Member Secretary, CPCB, India.
In which he mentioned "there is acute shortage of technical manpower, even in CPCB we have very less, for eg: in EPA of USA there are more than 18000 technical people while in entire CPCB we are hardly 150 technically qualified people. Mandates are very high but manpower is low".

Is this not a serious concern???? its a paradox! in a country with surplus availability of manpower and trained professionals suffering with unemployment, is it not the duty of Govt. to look into this matter? We talk of Green plans, Green India etc..... the same with Forest Department too...!!!!!! we talk about NAP, CAMPA, JFM, Tribal development, FRA, Wildlife conservation etc etc etc.... but wait! do we have the manpower to execute all these??? what about all those trained professionals lying unemployed there?????

Is this what sustainable human resource management / development is? when there is need and skilled human resources are available at our door step, are we blind OR reluctant! how pathetic! then we make hue and cry of brain drain - does it make any sense?? Even the ties between education institutions and employer organizations or industries are not strong enough to ensure employment. Both parties don't share what they expect from each other in training the personnel. Very few sign MoUs to ensure employment for the students ect...

Reference: Sustainable Environment - September 2008 (page 16),
www.sustainableenvironment.co.in

[Sheetal Nagare]

Thanks for this information sir. but its really sad to hear that. every person around speak about environment scope which is elevated now and feels that it has good opportunities but its not so and here is one reason for it.

[KANNA KUMAR SIRIPURAPU]

Dear Ms. Sheetal Nagare,

Thank you for your response. You can find other such issues even with students from prestigious institutes like IIFMs, Plz click the links below to see another story from Tamilnadu and IIFM.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/11/24/stories/2009112459170300.htm

http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/oct102006/855.pdf

May I request you not to address me Sir! Thank you!
I was wondering how these employment issues could be addressed?

[Gurshabadjeet Singh]

Gurshabadjeet Singh said:

Dear Kanna Kumar

You have raised a very pertinent issue and I'd further like to add something from my personal knowledge/ experience. The gravity of the problem can be judged from the fact that Indian Institute of Forest Management whose mandate is to produce forest managers, sees most of its pass-outs getting placed in either corporate MFIs or developmental NGOs.And its not just because the students are lured by the corporate packages but because there aren't any jobs for them with the forest department either which does not leave them with a lot of options. Though the situtation has improved of late but still it is a really sad fact...

[KANNA KUMAR SIRIPURAPU]

Dear Gurshabadjeet Singh,

Thank you so much for your response and valuable inputs. I was wondering if it is true!

"Indian Institute of Forest Management whose mandate is to produce forest managers",

Then why does it fail to lobby the Govt. to change the recruitment process? When every one talks at lengths about the complexities of ecology and environment then why they do not try to make it reflect in the areas where it is needed the most.

One of my friend said it right
we live in a country where
Pizza reaches homes faster than ambulance and police!
U get car loan at 5% and education loan at 12%!
Rice is Rs 40 /kg and sim card is free!
A millionaire can buy a cricket team but doesnt donate to a charity!

I'm not pontificating but, I wonder why all the graduates from premier institutes like IIFM are mum about this. Even the scenario isn't different with the people who teach Environmental Sciences at schools and colleges. Though supreme court made it mandatory of teaching env. sciences at every level, I'm afraid whether I missed to observe that the apex court has also mentioned that a trained personnel should be appointed for the same, taking into consideration the importance of the subject, else I cant imagine the kind of motivation an untrained person would give to the students.

Hope things will change for the sake of our environment, forests and all those helpless creatures of the wild! Thank you.