Nearly 15,000 aspirants competed for 154 forest guard posts in Nagaland, but alleged irregularities in the recruitment process have cast a shadow over the results. The Combined Technical Association of Nagaland (CTAN) has called for a written re-examination, citing discrepancies in final selections, unadvertised vacancies, and procedural lapses that threaten transparency and fairness.
CTAN submitted a formal representation to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) on Thursday, requesting a re-test for the recruitment process, whose final results were declared in December 2025.
According to the association, complaints from multiple candidates prompted the demand, with evidence pointing to practices that may have compromised the integrity of the examinations. Among the alleged irregularities:
• Allowing the use of ink or pen removers in some examination centres, which violates standard examination rules.
• Interview rule violations: the prescribed 3:1 candidate-to-interview ratio was exceeded by 29 candidates.
• Discrepancies in final selections: while a corrigendum declared 155 candidates selected, only 154 appeared in the final list.
• A candidate who cleared the interview was disqualified three days later on age grounds, while another candidate who neither qualified nor appeared for the interview was included in the results.
CTAN also highlighted procedural concerns, including the absence of OMR sheets, unclear rules on negative marking, and the collection of question papers after the examination. Candidates were reportedly charged an additional INR 300 for medical fitness despite prior payment, and mandatory chest and color-blindness tests were not properly conducted.
Further, the association noted that only 154 posts were advertised even though 165 vacancies existed at the time, with the remaining 11 posts advertised separately.
Warning against undermining aspirants’ morale, CTAN has urged the Forest Department to conduct a written re-examination. The association has also encouraged aspirants to file RTI applications to access answer sheets, with around 200 candidates already having done so.
The recruitment process, which began in July 2025, involved physical tests for nearly 15,000 aspirants, followed by written examinations. The controversy now raises pressing questions about transparency, fairness, and accountability in Nagaland’s state recruitment processes.