What are the various perks (like free car, house) which are offered to Indian Forest Service officers? What is the in-hand salary? Is the rank of the officer equivalent to that of an IAS?

I would like to promote one memoir here.Straight from Horse's mouth: There are engineers and doctors in plenty in India but it is not often that one comes across an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer. Partly due to the lure of MNCs offering high paying jobs and partly due to the fear of spending hours in remotest parts of the country, youngsters often prefer proven career options like engineering and medical than the forestry services. But those who do choose a life in the forests as a profession not only are able to live a http://indiasendangered.com/interview-film-maker-neloy-bandyopadhyay-raising-voice-for-the-dying-vultures/ from close quarters the many mysteries of nature.Meet Jayanti Prasad Sharma, an IFS officer (retd.) who served the Indian Forest Service for 35 years from 1963 to 1998. Sharma retired as Chief Conservator of Forests after serving in different districts and commissionerates of Uttar Pradesh. In his long career span he gathered precious insight into the world of animals and nature that most modern youngsters can only imagine.Career in the JungleBorn in a Brahmin farmer’s family in village Gawan, District Bulandshahar in Uttar Pradesh Sharma did his primary schooling in the village before completing his graduation from Khurja and post graduation from Allahabad University. He says there is no particular incident that lured him to forestry but he did feel naturally inclined to take this path.“I cannot recall any specific reason for me to have chosen this service. In 1959 I had joined Allahabad University to do my Masters in Mathematics. IFS exam was the first exam I wrote and got selected. I felt that I was temperamentally suited for this service and decided to join the IFS.”He adds talking about the various areas where he served,“After completing http://indiasendangered.com/natural-disaster-or-cost-of-ecological-sins/. From here my journey in the service took me to the districts of Gonda and Bahraich in eastern UP, Nanital and Almora in Kumaon Hills, Lalitpur and Jhansi in Bundelkhand, Pilibhit and Lakhimpur in Tarai/foothill region. From core forestry I moved to Social Forestry after doing a specialised course in Oxford University in 1982. With Social Forestry specialisation I served in Moradabad, Meerut and Agra.”Wild EncounterAs a young officer Sharma’s first posting was in Gorakhpur in 1965 and within days, he had his first brush with the most feared of all.Sharma recollects that fateful day,During the early days of my posting (1965) at Gorakhpur, I was marking the trees in thick jungle for felling under “irregular shelter wood system”. I was camping at Tehrighat Forest Rest House, situated inside deep forest. I used to ride to my area of work on my bicycle which was my prized possession and a compulsory asset since our training days at Dehradun. It was the month of May. Due to the excessive summer heat, we worked in field from 7 AM to 2PM marking the trees. One such afternoon around 2:30 PM while returning to my camp site after work, I was cycling fast through the dense forest of Sal trees all alone.”“Suddenly I heard some activity. During our training, we had been given exhaustive instructions regarding the activities of the wild animals in the jungle. I understood that now was the first opportunity to apply all that theoretical knowledge in this practical scenario. I reduced the pace of my cycle and suddenly a herd of panicked deers crossed the road running from my right and disappeared into the jungle on my left. I realised that some big wild animal was chasing them for his shikar. This wild animal turned out to be a Tiger. He came on the road and looked on both the sides of the open road. I stood, merely at a distance of 20-30 yards from the dreaded beast fully visible.”Faced with the royal beast, Sharma literally froze.“My cycle dropped from my hand and I barely managed to save myself from fainting. Gathering my wits about me, I moved inside the jungle on my right. I moved few feet inside and stood behind the thick trunk of an old Rohini tree. I was contemplating climbing a tree to protect myself from the attack of tiger but, to be very honest, it was just a thought. I was so nervous that I was left with no energy to execute my thought. The tiger continued on his chase. I, then, decided to wait for my orderly and other forest officials who were expected to follow me shortly. They arrived within 10 http://indiasendangered.com/lovely-lantana-spelling-doom-for-tigers/.”He smiles as he recalls the faces of his fellow officials who saw his fallen cycle fearing the worst.“They were somewhat frightened to see my cycle lying on the road along with my bag full of marking equipments and papers. My “Marking hammer” used for marking the most valuable tree for commercial sale lying on the road was telling a rather scary tale. This equipment to a Forester is what a service revolver is to a police man. Its loss can cost a hefty sum to the government in the form of illicit felling of trees in forest.”“Meanwhile I saw them from my position behind the tree and made a forest sound which is taught to us during our training to be used when someone is lost in forest.”Reunited with his colleagues and spending some time in the forest guest house Sharma was back next day for work. But after that wild encounter, no one allowed him to travel alone inside the forest.From that fateful day till his retirement Sharma had the chance to see the tiger from extremely close range thrice and he says with perhaps a renewed rush of adrenaline, that no other animal could be his favourite after witnessing this magnificent beast.Everyday TusslesLife as a forest officer, Sharma says revolved around the wilderness but the problems and challenges faced ere not from the wildlife itself, but most often from humans. He says, apart from the known illegal activities of poaching and felling of protected trees which the officers had to constantly check on, one of the biggest everyday challenge was to prevent encroachment of the forest land.“Even if the village settlements are outside the forest boundaries, the nearby villagers continue to use forest land for grazing their cattle and they also keep entering the forest to collect fuelwood.”On the other hand, as chief protectors of the forest and its inhabitants, forest officers are also the chief negotiators who resolve conflict when a wild animal enters human settlements. Sharma says, it was a part of his day-to-day job to ensure that peace was maintained when such conflicts arose.“I have served as Divisional Forest officer (DFO) in a number of Terai Districts of Uttar Pradesh namely Baharich, Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Khiri. Panthers, tigers, lions and other wild animals used to cross the wild zone to adjoining villages and agricultural areas. They use to attack the domestic cattle and also human life. In such situations I had to solve the problems of the villagers on amicable grounds including the compensation etc from the government. This type of problems is always there in above http://indiasendangered.com/captive-bred-rare-cheer-pheasants-to-be-released-into-the-wild/ go together.”Disappearing ForestsAs someone who has witnessed with his own eyes the rapid urbanization and in turn the rapid disappearance of India’s natural treasure, Sharma is pained to think of the state of forest land today.He says during the sixties when he joined the service there was lot of love and respect in the eyes of public for forest as well as foresters. There was in general, respect for forest law. Things have changed now. There is lots of political interference. In the name of development the pressure on land has increased and it has becomes the easiest prey, he adds.“Due to such policies to please the interests of few, the forest land has diminished a lot and is fast diminishing from what we inherited.”When he was in service, Sharma recalls there were no roads. They were trained to travel on foot on hills.“I remember touring the hills of Chakrata, Uttarkanshi, Tons and Yamuna valley in early Sixties. It will sound very primitive today but we actually toured on foot with our kitchen boxes, beddings, luggage was carried on by mules on forests roads. There was no roads to walk forget motor able roads. We were asked to camp for days which led to lots of interaction with the locals. Things which have become virtually nonexistent today.”When asked if people’s bonding with nature or forest has reduced, the forest officer has a deep insight to share, something that only someone who has served and practically experienced the changes can understand.Jayanti Prasad Sharma says,“People staying close to forests were dependent on it[forest]. Britishers acknowledged and respected it. They officially notified their rights for wood, timber, grazing for cattle etc. The villagers used to love forest and the presence of many temples deep inside the forest show that forest had attained the status of God. Their love for forest in turn made them love the Forester. This love also arose from the fact that forest officials used to provide above facilities judiciously and honestly.”“Because of political dictatorship, things have change now. I remember a couple of times I refused to obey the unfair request made by my ministers as they were not in purview of law. When I explained to them my limitation they followed it. I am informed by my junior officers that this is not the case anymore.”Choosing to Serve the ForestsSharma hopes more youngsters choose IFS. He advices them to join this service with a determination and zeal of serving the country and the environment. He also importantly asks the next generation to not stoop down to political pressures.“They must make an effort to change the mindset of people and politicians who have become anti forests, who value monetary gains over our mother nature. For them forests and forest departments are obstructions in their plans of grabbing forests land. They have to take up the task of making world aware of the natural wealth we have inherited and teach them to pass it on to our next generation. It should be taken up as our moral responsibility.”Sharma give’s some vital career lessons too.“As you have decided to join IFS, so now it is forests where you belong. Along with office work, field inspections are very important. Make it a habit to visit the fields and do lots of site inspections. Try not to be an arm chair officer but a one who is a field officer.”“We have inherited a chain of rest houses in dense and remote places built by Britishers. Always stay few nights every month in them. It helps connecting with the locals in much better way and gives a great command over the area of one’s jurisdiction.”As a parting message to readers, the keen forest lover advices,“Please don’t disturb the climatic climax and static equilibrium of the nature. Nature achieve them in hundreds and thousands of decade. Once this setting of nature is disturbed by human factors, calamities and tragedies are bound to happen. Environment and forests are interrelated and these play a very important role in the formation of” climatic climax”. For all this you have to work towards the conservation of soil, forest and fauna.” Source :http://indiasendangered.com/-