Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar exhorted IFS officer trainees to work with commitment and not for commission. He said this while speaking at the convocation of the professional forestry course 2012-14 of Indian Forest Service probationers at the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy here on Saturday.
Addressing the gathering, Javadekar said that with dedicated efforts the green cover of the nation can be increased from 24 per cent to 33 per cent in the next 15 years instead of the estimated 25-30 years. “We need to ensure public participation in afforestation, wildlife management, forest fire management and anti-poaching efforts. It is also vital to innovate as much as possible. India has a rich biodiversity and also has varied other positive aspects in the environment but what we lack in innovation,” he said, while stressing on the need for encouraging innovation. The Minister also added that progress and environmental conservation can go hand in hand.
Earlier, the director general of Forests and special secretary, MoEFCC, Dr SS Garbyal congratulated the officers and sensitized them towards the challenges awaiting them in the sector. He also spoke about the importance of professionalism in government service.
Addressing the gathering, IGNFA director RK Goel informed that the passing out 2012-14 batch consisted of 78 IFS officers, including 22 lady probationers and two foreign trainees from Bhutan including four PhD, 49 post graduates and 25 graduates. Forty four officers had secured more than 75 per cent marks in the aggregate qualifying for the honours diploma. He advised the young probationers to work with sincerity, keep an open mind and innovate while dealing with various issues specially the issues concerning the livelihood of forest dependent people. The academy additional director Dr Alok Saxena also addressed the gathering. Jagyandatt Pati of Odisha cadre was awarded for all round outstanding performance and for being the best all round forester, Aparna from Arunachal Pradesh–Goa–Mizoram–Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre was adjudged topper in core forestry subjects, Uma Rani N from West Bengal cadre won the P Srinivas memorial prize, Sanath Kumar N from Odisha cadre won the Sanjay Singh memorial prize and the RN Mathur memorial prize, Mohammad Sajid Sultan from Jammu and Kashmir cadre won the Hill memorial prize, Kalyani from Uttarakhand and Sumesh Soman from Tamil Nadu won the DC Agarwal prize and Dr Dheeraj Mittal from Gujarat won the EP GEE Wildlife Management prize among others.
