Indian Forest Service
The Indian Forest Service (IFS) is the premier forest service of India.[1][2][3] It was constituted in the year 1966 under the All India Services Act, 1951.
Formerly known as
Imperial Forest Service
1864
(as Imperial Forest Service)
1966
(as Indian Forest Service)
India
3131 (2182 Direct Recruits and 949 Promotion Posts)
Shri Jitender Kumar IFS
The service implements the National Forest Policy[4] in order to ensure the ecological stability of the country through the protection and participatory sustainable management of natural resources. The members of the service also manage the National Parks, Tiger Reserve, Wildlife Sanctuaries and other Protected Areas of the country. A Forest Service officer is wholly independent of the district administration and exercises administrative, judicial and financial powers in their own domain. Positions in state forest department, such as District/Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Conservator of Forests, Chief Conservator of Forests and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests etc., are held, at times, by Indian Forest Service officers. The highest-ranking Forest Service official in each state is the Head of Forest Forces. A forest service officer also hold positions of Chairman and Member Secretary in the State Pollution Control Boards.
Earlier, the British Government in India had constituted the Imperial Forest Service in 1867 which functioned under the Federal Government until the Government of India Act 1935 was passed and responsibility was transferred to the provinces.
Administration of the Service is the responsibility of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests[edit]
The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Hindi: प्रधान मुख्य वन संरक्षक) is the highest-ranking officer belonging to the Indian Forest Service who is responsible for managing the Forests, Environment and Wild-Life related issues of a state of India.[25]
It is the highest rank of an officer of the Indian Forest Service in a State.
At times the states may have more than one post of PCCF and in that case, one of them is designated as the Head of Forest Force (HOFF). HOFF/PCCF is supported by APCCFs, Chief Conservator of Forests, Conservator of Forests, and field level functionaries, such as DFOs and Range Forest officers in their work.
Controversies[edit]
Changing Name[edit]
The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes has proposed the idea of renaming the Indian Forest Service as the ‘Indian Forest and Tribal Service’.[35][36]