The British Government of Imperial India established a locust warning organisation in the year 1939 with its Hqrs at Karachi (undivided India), after the ravages and depredation of the Desert locust plague of 1926-1931. The main function of this organization at that time was to keep surveillance in the Thar Desert and issuance of warning to the then Indian states about the possibility of the Desert locust swarms incursion, movement and breeding. The present Locust warning organization established in the month of October 1946, is an important division of Directorate of plant protection, quarantine and storage under the than Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India headed by the Plant Protection Adviser. Joint Director (E) Locust Control & Research being the Scheme officer of the locust division at headquarter Faridabad, assists the Plant Protection Adviser in managing day to day Technical and administrative activities.
The Locust Warning Organization, Jodhpur is the operational field headquarters of the locust division headed by the Deputy Director (Ento.), who is the controlling Officer of Field Hqrs of LWO Jodhpur and 10 Locust Circle Offices (LCOs) located at Phalodi, Nagaur, Churu, Suratgarh, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Jalore (in the state of Rajasthan), Palanpur & Bhuj (in the state of Gujarat). The Circle Offices which are independent functional units with their well defined jurisdiction for undertaking locust surveillance, monitoring and control in the Schedule Desert Area of Rajasthan and Gujarat, are headed by the Assistant Director (Entomology) / Plant Protection Officer (Entomology). All the technical activities of the Circles are supervised and monitored by the field headquarters, Jodhpur and the Dte. Headquarters Faridabad through regular communication of instructions /directives and reporting.
