Guwahati, April 22: The Assam Forest Department is at the centre of a major controversy after allegations emerged of a massive recruitment scam involving fake documents and fraudulent claims for regularization of services by muster roll, work-charged, and casual workers.
In response, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has ordered a complete verification of the beneficiary list forwarded by the Environment & Forest Department. The case has roots in a series of 64 writ petitions filed between 2004 and 2013 by Upen Das and 836 others working in various departments, seeking regularization of their services.
On December 20, 2013, a single-judge bench of the Gauhati High Court, based on an undertaking from the state and referencing the Supreme Court’s Umadevi judgment, directed the Assam government to regularize workers with over ten years of service.
However, the state filed Writ Appeal 45/2014, and on June 8, 2017, a division bench overturned the single judge’s order. It ruled that these workers were not entitled to regularization or pension benefits.
Still, the court directed the state not to terminate workers who had been employed since August 1, 2007, and to ensure they received minimum pay and were enrolled in health and accidental death insurance schemes.
It is alleged that officials in the Forest Department, which employs over 1,000 such workers across more than 60 divisions, manipulated this judgment to push through ineligible candidates for regularization.
A fraudulent verification mechanism was put in place that relied on HSLC certificates to verify date of birth, engagement certificates allegedly signed by Divisional Forest Officers (DFOs), cash vouchers and corresponding cash book entries.
But investigations revealed fake school certificates with forged headmaster signatures, often from the same school. Engagement certificates are not recorded in official registers, many with mismatched or forged signatures. Post-dated and backdated documents, with officers like range and beat officers signing in place of DFOs. Fake cash vouchers that didn’t match with cash registers.
In one forest division, 60 out of 61 applicants submitted fake certificates from the same school. This raised red flags across divisions like Hailakandi and Barpeta.
Initially, a three-member committee led by Dr. Sonali Ghosh, Director of Kaziranga National Park, was formed to scrutinize applications. However, sources allege the committee faced intense political pressure from a retired IFS officer with connections in Dispur to fast-track approval.
The scrutinized list, allegedly lacking proper verification, was then sent to the Forest Minister and the Chief Minister for final approval. But following complaints from genuine candidates, the Chief Minister’s Office rejected the list and ordered a fresh verification.
A new committee, headed by Dr. Satyendra Singh, Additional PCCF, was set up.
However, this committee only reviewed 490 out of over 1,000 applicants and largely relied on affidavits from DFOs, without independently verifying documents.
Observers and civil society voices say the scale of fraud suggests a scam possibly bigger than the APSC recruitment scam, and are calling for an investigation by the Vigilance & Anti-Corruption Department.
They argue that without a thorough criminal probe, genuine candidates will continue to suffer while fraudsters walk away with permanent jobs and benefits.
The Chief Minister’s decision to order verification marks a critical turning point, but many believe that only a transparent investigation and accountability at all levels will restore trust in the system.
