Shubhranjan Sen, 1991-Batch IFS Officer, Appointed Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Forest Force in Madhya Pradesh

The Madhya Pradesh government has appointed Shubhranjan Sen, a 1991-batch officer of the Indian Forest Service, as Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Forest Force, placing him at the apex of the state's forest administration.

The Head of Forest Force position is the senior-most post within a state's forest department, carrying overall responsibility for forest conservation policy, wildlife protection enforcement, and coordination with the central Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on national forest and biodiversity programmes implemented at the state level.

Madhya Pradesh holds the largest forest cover of any Indian state by area, making the Head of Forest Force role there one of the more consequential postings within the Indian Forest Service cadre nationally, given the sheer scale of forest and wildlife management responsibilities the position carries across the state's extensive protected area network.

Sen's appointment as a 1991-batch officer places him among the senior-most eligible officers within the state's IFS cadre, reflecting the seniority-based selection process typically applied for a state's top forest administration post, which requires several decades of accumulated field and policy experience across divisional and regional forest postings.

The state's forest department oversees a wide portfolio spanning tiger and wildlife reserve management, given Madhya Pradesh's status as home to a significant share of India's tiger population, alongside forest revenue administration, afforestation programmes, and enforcement against illegal logging and poaching activities.

As Head of Forest Force, Sen will be responsible for coordinating the state's response to ongoing conservation priorities, including human-wildlife conflict management and forest fire prevention, both areas that have required sustained departmental attention given the scale and diversity of Madhya Pradesh's forest landscape.

The appointment order was issued through the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department in coordination with the state's General Administration Department.