By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: The Indian Forest Service officer of 1982 batch and Expert Member of National Green Tribunal (NGT) Siddhanta Das, who was a former DG (Forests), has been appointed as the Chairman of Odisha Real Estate Regulatory Authority.
“In exercise of the powers conferred under sub-section 1 of section 20 of the Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act, 2016, the State Government is pleased to appoint Siddhanta Das as Chairperson of Odisha Real Estate Regulatory Authority with effect from the date he assumes the office,” according to a notification issued on Saturday.
Das has worked in different positions with the Government of Odisha. His first posting was in the Dhenkanal Division, Odisha as the Deputy Conservator of Forest.
In the past he also served as the Principal of the Forest Rangers’ College, Angul; Deputy Conservator of Forest, Sambalpur Division, ; Professor, Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy, Dehradun, Uttarakhand; General Manager, Orissa Forest Development Corporation, Bhubaneswar.
Siddhanta Das IFS of 1982 batch of cadre Odisha cadre. He has done his Masters in Physics, Forestry and Business Administration. He has done courses on “Agro-Forestry” and “Training of Trainers” in the University of Edinburgh, UK. He rose to the highest rank in the country in the Forestry sector and retired as Director General of Forests and Special Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Govt. of India.
In the 33 months he served as Director General of Forests he was instrumental in (a)preparing draft National Forest Policy, (b) developing Landscape based Catchment Area Treatment Plan for all major river systems of the country, (c)initiating process of Digitization of Boundaries of all types of Forests, (d)putting in place Coordinated Research programme and establishing Centre of Excellence in Indian Council of Forest Research & Education (ICFRE), (e)preparing Forest Fire Management Plan for the country, (f)preparing Policy for managing Wood-based industries, (g)developing simplified and transparent procedures for transport of forest produce, (h)putting in place a robust scheme for Wildlife & Protected Area Management, (h) initiating Forest Certification in the country, etc.
He was the first and the only full-time officer to join Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA), when it was constituted after the worst ever Super-cyclone in history that devastated coastal Odisha in October 1999. It was an organization first of its kind in the country, which triggered formation of similar outfits in all the States and at National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) at Centre. It resulted in a paradigm shift in Disaster Management (DM); from Relief, Restoration and Reconstruction to Planning, Preparedness and Prevention. Mr Das drafted the 1st State DM Policy and State DM Plan of the country.
He has a flair for teaching. As a Professor in the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA) for 5 years and as Principal of a Rangers’ College for 3 years he introduced innovate and interactive teaching methodologies.
He served as a manager of Forest and Wildlife resources at district level (for 4 years), at Supervisory level (for 4 years) and at the State level (for 2 years). During his entire career he was easily accessible to one and all. He was recognised for his human touch in administration and empathy for sub-ordinates and forest dependent communities.
He served 4 years as Secretary, Odisha State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) and made a mark for strict enforcement of Environment Laws. He put in place an impartial and transparent Environmental Administration mechanism that ensured probity. He burst the myth that SPCB is only after private sector by enforcing closure of 2 Navaratna PSUs.
He served for 2 years as Project Director of a Food Security programme for selected tribal populace taken up under World Food Programme (WFP), a branch of the United Nations.Post retirement, he has joined the National Green Tribunal as an Expert Member with effect from 1st Jan, 2020.
