In an unusual move, the Maharashtra Forest Department has ordered a review of colour of boards indicating a plantation, office or bearing other general information. ‘‘They were perceived to be similar to the BJP’s official colours, hence the review,’’ said a top official on condition of anonymity. The review comes within three months of Sunil Mitra’s appointment as the new Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, who has ordered a review of 14 standing orders by his predecessor, M.K. Sharma. The Standing Order (6) prescribes a combination of brick red (read saffron), bottle green and white colours, official colours of the Congress also. However, Mitra said: ‘‘I haven’t ordered the review; the government has. The intention behind those orders might be good, but they seemed to have been rushed through.’’ Sources said that many such boards have already been installed and a huge investment made. If changed, money spent on them would go waste, something the cash-strapped department cannot afford. Similarly, as per Order (9), advertisements were issued for 66 posts of honorary forest taxonomists to train forest officials. Interviews were also conducted. Their fate, however, now hangs in balance. ‘‘We have only stayed the effect of the orders, we haven’t cancelled them,’’ Mitra said. The list is longer. But the most important Order 14 recommends devolution of financial and administrative powers within the Forest Department hierarchy. ‘‘As a matter of fact, this was the main irritant. But it would have looked tendentious had it been quashed in isolation. Hence, all orders were quashed in one stroke’’ said an official.
