Nagaland makes remote district service mandatory for Forest officers seeking promotion, requiring five years in Category B and C postings
Kohima, Nov. 6 (EMN): — Nagaland government has made postings in remote districts mandatory for promotion of Forest department officers, requiring them to complete at least three years in Category C districts and two years in Category B districts during their service career.
The requirement is part of the Nagaland Forest Department Officers’ Transfer Policy, 2026, notified by the department of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (DEFCC) on November 2. The policy also fixes the minimum tenure at any posting station at three years and the maximum at five years.
Principal Secretary of DEFCC Y Kikheto Sema, who is also Nagaland’s Development Commissioner, informed Eastern Mirror that the decision to formulate the policy was taken during the first Forest Officers Conference held in March this year. He said the officers unanimously adopted the proposal through a show of hands.
According to Sema, the policy is intended to provide fair opportunities to officers, particularly in matters relating to transfers and postings. He also pointed out that the department of Health and Family Welfare had adopted a similar transfer policy in the past.
The policy applies to all Nagaland Forest department officers from the rank of deputy ranger officer to deputy conservator of forests (DCF)/divisional forest officer (DFO). Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers posted in Nagaland up to the rank of DCF/DFO will also come under its purview, subject to the All India Services (Cadre) Rules, 1954, and other applicable IFS service rules.
Three categories of posting stations
For the purpose of transfers and postings, the state has been divided into three categories based on accessibility, availability of infrastructure, hardship and remoteness.
Category A comprises Dimapur, Chümoukedima, Niuland, Kohima, Tseminyu, Peren and Mokokchung. Category B includes Zunheboto, Wokha, Phek and Meluri, while Category C comprises Mon, Longleng, Tuensang, Shamator, Noklak and Kiphire.
The notification describes Category C districts as geographically remote, difficult to access and presenting significant logistical and operational challenges.
Under the policy, every officer covered by it will be required to serve at least one full term of three years in a Category C posting during their service career. In addition, officers must complete a minimum of two years in a Category B posting to become eligible for the next promotion.
An officer will qualify for promotion upon satisfactorily completing either at least three years in Category C and two years in Category B, or five continuous years in Category C.
The policy also provides priority consideration for officers seeking Category A postings after completing more than five years continuously in Category C, or at least three years in Category C and two years in Category B without an intervening Category A posting.
Tenure, transfers and home-district postings
The standard tenure at any posting station has been fixed at a minimum of three years and a maximum of five years, constituting one full term.
Transfers before completion of the minimum three-year tenure will ordinarily not be made. Exceptions include public service exigencies or administrative necessity, disciplinary proceedings requiring transfer, serious medical grounds certified by a competent authority, and other exceptional circumstances determined by the competent authority. In cases of transfers on administrative grounds before completion of the minimum tenure, reasons will have to be recorded in writing.
Officers transferred on personal grounds before completing the minimum tenure will not be entitled to transfer allowance, and such transfers will be treated as being at their own cost.
The policy also provides special provisions for officers serving in Category B and C districts. An officer who completes the maximum permissible five-year term in Category C may seek transfer to Category A or B. Such requests will be processed on priority, with preference given to a station of the officer’s choice, subject to the availability of a suitable vacancy.
In cases where a Category B or C district is an officer’s home district, the officer will ordinarily be transferred to another category upon completion of the mandatory tenure of three to five years. An officer serving in Category B will ordinarily be transferred to Category C or A, while one serving in Category C will be transferred to Category A or B.
However, officers willing to continue serving in Category C will have to be posted to a different Category C district from their home district. According to the notification, this provision is intended to prevent officers from serving in their home territories for extended periods, which could compromise the impartiality of forest governance.
Provisions for IFS officers and annual transfers
The policy contains specific provisions for IFS officers serving in Nagaland at the rank of DCF. Every such officer will be required to begin their tenure in a cadre post in Category C and comply with posting orders to Category C or B issued by the competent authority.
IFS officers serving as DCF may also proceed on central deputation to ministries, departments or central public sector undertakings of the government of India, inter-cadre deputation to another state cadre, or intra-state deputation to another department, corporation or authority within Nagaland.
All such deputations will be subject to a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Nagaland government in accordance with the All India Services (Cadre) Rules, 1954. While considering an NOC, the government may examine whether the officer has served in Category B or C. Upon returning from deputation, the officer may be posted to either category to complete the mandatory tenure, as applicable.
The notification also clarifies that mandatory Category B and C service requirements will not affect the inter se seniority of State Forest Service officers for consideration for induction into the IFS. Such seniority will continue to be determined under the applicable service rules, regulations and orders of the competent authority.
To ensure wider professional exposure, the policy provides for rotation of officers across the department’s different functional wings, including territorial divisions, wildlife divisions and functional or headquarters divisions.
The office of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Forest Force (PCCF & HoFF) will invite applications for general transfers annually between January and March. Routine transfers will ordinarily be undertaken once a year during a designated transfer season, preferably between November and January, to minimise disruption to field operations. Ad hoc and out-of-season transfers will be discouraged.
Before each annual transfer season, officers completing or nearing completion of their prescribed tenure will be identified, vacancies across the three categories mapped, and a draft transfer list prepared by the Administration Wing for approval by the competent authority. Officers will also be given reasonable notice before joining their new stations.
The policy came into force on November 2, 2026, and supersedes all previous orders, circulars and guidelines on the subject. It also states that its provisions do not confer any individual right to a specific transfer or posting. Relaxation may be permitted in exceptional cases involving extreme hardship or public service interests, while the government reserves the right to amend or revoke any provision in public interest.