Forest department floats tender to deploy 134 personnel on contract to Mudumalai Tiger Reserve

The state forest department floated a ₹1.5-crore tender to deploy 134 temporary personnel across Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in the Nilgiris to monitor anti-poaching and conservation activities. According to tender documents, the workers will be deployed across Masinagudi, Singara, Segur and the Nilgiris eastern slope regions for four months in field and office jobs, including 99 anti-poaching watchers, computer operators, tiger-protection watchers, sanitation workers and a biologist. The forest department stated that personnel are required to protect tigers, prevent poaching, manage human-wildlife conflict by tracking straying elephants, regulate tourism, patrol highways, prevent tourists from feeding wildlife or littering, assist during forest fires and monitor forest fringes. The bid is open until 12pm on November 30. The selected bidder must screen personnel for antecedents, character and conduct, giving first preference to local village residents who previously worked with the forest department. Workers must not be paid below the minimum wage fixed by the central government, and the bidder must ensure combined basic pay and dearness allowance remain below ₹15,000.