Raipur
The Chhattisgarh Government has appointed senior Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Arun Kumar Pandey as the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Forest Force (PCCF-HoFF).
The state administration issued an official order on Wednesday.
Pandey, a 1994-batch IFS officer, succeeds V Sreenivas Rao, a 1990-batch officer, who is retiring from service.
Following this appointment, Pandey will draw a monthly apex scale salary of ₹2,25,000.
The state administration selected Pandey for the top post over senior officers Kaushlendra Singh and Anil Sahu. Official sources indicated that his administrative capabilities and extensive wildlife management experience played a key role in the decision.
During his career, Pandey played a major role in securing the international Ramsar Site designation for the Kopra Water Reservoir in Bilaspur, making it the first wetland from Chhattisgarh to receive this global recognition.
He also has significant experience in supervising Tiger Reserves and resolving critical wildlife conservation and forest management challenges in the state.
