Chennai: The state forest department has floated a ₹1.5-crore tender to deploy 134 temporary personnel across Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in the Nilgiris for four months to monitor anti-poaching and conservation activities, among others.The workers, who will be deployed across Masinagudi, Singara, Segur and the Nilgiris eastern slope regions of the reserve, will be employed in field and office jobs such as computer operators, tiger-protection watchers and sanitation workers. Anti-poaching watcher is the post with the highest personnel requirement at 99. The department has also sought a biologist.Mudumalai Tiger Reserve requires adequate personnel to protect tigers, prevent poaching, manage human-wildlife conflict and regulate tourism year-round. According to tender documents, the personnel will digitise records, manage the office database, patrol highways, regulate traffic, prevent tourists from feeding wildlife or littering, assist during forest fires and monitor forest fringes.They will also mitigate human-wildlife conflicts in the region by tracking straying animals such as elephants. Those deployed in the tiger squads will assist in capturing and releasing the animal, whenever required.The bid is open till 12pm on Nov 30. The bidder is required to screen the personnel for antecedents, character, and conduct. First preference will be given to candidates who are residents of villages in the area and have previously worked with the forest department. Workers must not be paid below the minimum wage fixed by the central govt.The bidder must also ensure that the combined basic pay and dearness allowance (DA) for all categories of employees remain below ₹15,000.
