Beat Forest Officer

Firstly, the term “beat” is used to refer to an area of forest managed by one or more forest staffers without supervision from home. These staff members patrol their beat on foot or on horseback, with a rifle and a side arm, and do many things like guarding the boundary of the beat while they are on patrol work, inspecting trapper’s traps for compliance with regulations and hunting wild animals outside their beat in retaliation for killing livestock. They also issue licenses for trapping animals, including the deer whose meat is sold in the local markets. In addition to this, they collect elephant damage compensation for residents of their beat.

In India, wildlife protection work has been performed by the “beat officer system” which was introduced in 1868 by Sir Dietrich Brandis (the then Director General of Forests) as a form of control that was decentralized when compared to previous methods of control which were performed at the provincial level. This was adopted from the British who used small police positions called “bobbies” and had this system spread throughout Britain’s colonies across the world. There are still some services which choose to retain the traditional system where forests are managed by a central authority, but most of the Indian forests are managed through this beat officer system.

In early 2017, Mr. P. C. Jadhav requested the Ministry of Forests (MoF) and the Chief Wildlife Warden (CWW) of Maharashtra to allow him to serve as a beat officer in SGNP forest where he has been living for many years as an independent man who has been providing service in many parts of India such as Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, and Arunachal Pradesh among others.

Responsibilities of Beat Forest Officer:

It is the responsibility of the beat officer to carry out day-to-day routine work in his/her beat like guarding the forest boundaries, conducting raids on poachers, issuing licenses for hunting, and also collecting fees from poachers. Being beat officers in India means living on the beat with a rifle and a sidearm since forest fire tenders are not available. Many forest officials who are authorized to issue licenses for hunting argue that this practice only encourages poaching since the arrests are made after an encounter meaning that there is no guarantee that the person who has been arrested will be actually punished for their crimes.

About the post offered by Kerala Public Service Commission:

A Kerala State Government agency, the Kerala Public Service Commission (KPSC), conducts a general interview of the aspirants for recruitment to various government posts in its Directorate of Staff Selection and Formation. The Directorate consists of the following departments: Junior Administrative Service; Group A Services; Group B Services; Subordinate Judicial Service; Subordinate Police Services and Others.

Notification 2022:

As per the latest notification from the KPSC, the KPSC will soon be recruiting candidates for the post of Beat Forest Officer in the Kerala Forest Department. Candidates who are interested in becoming members of this department should go through the details of this notification and apply accordingly. Some other details as per the notification 2022 about the post are:

Conclusion

Through the beat officer system, India has been able to protect its forests and the wildlife found within them. The government should continue to support this system instead of reverting to the centralized forest management method which was practiced in Victorian times.