Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar/Chandigarh, February 1: Shri Dharminder Sharma, 1994 batch IFS officer assumed charge as Principal Chief Forester, Punjab (PCCF, HOFF) at Sector 68 Forest Complex here today. He will also hold the additional charge of PCCF Wildlife and Chief Wildlife Warden, Punjab.
On this occasion, Shri Dharminder Sharma thanked Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and Forest Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak and said that the focus would be on promoting eco-tourism, conservation and maintenance of wetlands, increasing greenery in the state and generating employment opportunities locally. Shri Sharma said that the 'Van Mahotsav' to be held in July 2025 would be a unique event.
He called upon the people to plant as many trees as possible as it is essential to maintain a clean and green environment for the coming generations. It may be recalled that Mr. Sharma is a 1994 batch Indian Forest Service (IFS) UPSC topper and by virtue of his education and experience he is also a wildlife expert, botanist and natural resource manager.
He is a graduate from Delhi University in Plant Sciences and a Masters in Natural Resource Management from Cranfield University, UK on Marshall Papworth Scholarship. In addition, Mr. Sharma received training in wildlife and related sciences from Universities in UK, Finland and Yale University, USA.
Earlier, he has served in various capacities at district and higher levels in the Government of Punjab, including as District Forest Officer, Patiala/Sangrur/Ferozepur, Team Leader in World Bank assisted project, Director Chhatbir Zoo, Chief Conservator of Forests, Plains, and Secretary of Soil & Water Conservation Department and Agriculture Department. His achievements also include the preparation of the State Forest Research Plan of Punjab, which provided direction to research projects under the then JICA (Japan) Project in 1999. In the same year, a professional training course was also organized for the newly recruited forest guards in the Forest Department. Apart from preparing the “Working Plan” (a highly technical document) of Ferozepur Forest Division in the year 2000, Shri Sharma also prepared the “Master Plan” of Chhatbir Zoo during 2006-09 during his tenure as Field Director.
This was the first document in this context in India and was appreciated by the Central Zoo Authority, Government of India. This document has been guiding all the developments going on in the Zoo since then. He had acquired expertise in carbon sequestration in agroforestry systems from UK, due to which he was invited by many organizations at the national level to speak on climate change and other environmental issues and to train its stakeholders.
He was also invited to deliberate in national and international seminars/workshops at MAGSIPA Chandigarh, Forest Research Institute (FRI) Dehradun and The Energy and Resources Institute (TRI) Delhi. Other key forest officials like Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Satendra Sagar, Conservator of Forests (Planning) Vishal Chauhan, Honorary Wildlife Warden (Patiala) Amarjit Singh Chauhan, Managing Officer Rajinder Singh and staff members of Forest and Wildlife Protection Department were present on the occasion.