In a significant administrative reshuffle, the Uttar Pradesh government transferred 20 Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers late Thursday night, assigning new responsibilities to both senior officials and newly trained officers.

According to the transfer order, Sushant Sharma, previously serving as Secretary (Forests), has been relieved from his post and appointed as Chief Conservator of Forests, Mirzapur Division. Manish Mittal, who earlier held the Mirzapur post, has now been made Secretary (Forests) and given the additional charge of General Manager, Industries, at the UP Forest Corporation.

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Among the key changes, Arvind Kumar Singh has been transferred from the Research and Training Institute, Kanpur, to become Managing Director of the UP Forest Corporation. Ram Kumar, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Projects), has received additional responsibility as Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Project Tiger.

Lalit Kumar Verma has been posted as Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Working Plan, Research and Training, with additional charges of Chief Conservator of Forests, CAMPA, and Chief Conservator of Forests/Nodal Officer. Deepak Kumar, already holding the post of Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Planning and Agroforestry), has been given additional charge of Chief Conservator of Forests, Administration (Gazetted).

Bonik Chandra Brahma, Chief Conservator of Forests, Eastern Zone, Gorakhpur, will also serve as Director/Conservator of Forests, Shaheed Ashfaq Ullah Khan Zoological Park, Gorakhpur. H. Rajamohan, Field Director of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, has been assigned additional charge as Field Director, Pilibhit Tiger Reserve.

Aditi Sharma, Chief Conservator of Forests (Policy Analysis and Coordination), will also handle Human Resource Development, while Dr K Elango, Chief Conservator of Forests, Western Region (Meerut), has been given additional charge as Conservator of Forests, Saharanpur Circle, and General Manager, UP Forest Corporation, Meerut.

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At the divisional level, Rajni Kant Mittal, DFO Mathura, has been transferred to Gautam Buddh Nagar, while Prakhar Mishra, Director (Eco Tourism), will now serve as DFO Rae Bareli. Pushp Kumar K, DFO Siddharthnagar, has taken over as Director (Eco Tourism). Vipul Singhal, Deputy Chief Wildlife Warden, has been posted as DFO, Shivalik Forest Division, Saharanpur.

Among newly trained IFS officers, Venkat Srikar Patel has been appointed DFO Mathura, Kirti Chaudhary as DFO North Kheri Forest Division/Buffer Zone, Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, Neela M as DFO Siddharthnagar, Akanksha Jain as DFO Azamgarh, Jai Singh Kushwaha as DFO Social Forestry Division, Bijnor, and Sachin Kumar as DFO Shahjahanpur.

The large-scale reshuffle aims to streamline forest administration and strengthen field operations across the state.