Forest dept chief to retire September-end

The forest department has prepared a panel of all officers of PCCF rank, among whom one will be chosen to head the state’s forest force

Mumbai: With the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), Shomita Biswas, due to retire at the end of this month, the forest department has prepared a panel of all officers of PCCF rank, among whom one will be chosen to head the state’s forest force. PCCF (wildlife) M Srinivas Rao may be named as head of the forest force, and Sanjeev Gaur or M Sreenivas Reddy may be named as PCCF (wildlife), sources told HT.

Forest dept chief to retire September-end

Biswas, a 1988 batch Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer, was appointed PCCF on August 1, 2024.

The state has five posts for officers of PCCF rank. While an IFS officer needs to complete 30 years of service to become PCCF, there is a severe shortage of such senior IFS officers in the state, said sources in the bureaucracy. Hence, additional PCCFs could take over key posts of the forest department headquartered in Nagpur, the sources added.