Telangana Forest Department Carries Out Major DFO-Level Reshuffle

The Telangana government has carried out a reshuffle involving 12 Indian Forest Service officers, with changes concentrated at the District Forest Officer level across several districts.

DFOs head forest administration at the district level, overseeing enforcement against illegal felling and encroachment, wildlife management and the implementation of afforestation programmes — functions that depend heavily on an officer's familiarity with local terrain and ongoing cases.

Among the key changes, Siddharth Vikram Singh was transferred from Nizamabad to Bhadradri Kothagudem as DFO, while G Kishta Gowd moved in the opposite direction from Bhadradri Kothagudem to Jayashankar Bhupalpally.

Shiv Aasheesh Singh was transferred from Mahabubnagar to take over as DFO of Rangareddy, and M Naveen Reddy shifted from Jayashankar Bhupalpally to Mahabubnagar — a set of postings that effectively rotated several officers through each other's previous charges.

Prashanth Baji Rao Patil moved from Adilabad and was posted as the new DFO of Nizamabad, while Chinna Vishwanath Bhusa Reddy retained his current role while additionally being assigned the additional charge of DFO, Adilabad.

Telangana's forest department has worked closely with district collectors on resolving land-use disputes in areas where forest boundaries overlap with revenue or mining department records, a recurring administrative challenge that incoming DFOs typically inherit from their predecessors.

The reshuffle takes effect as per the order issued by the Telangana government's forest department.