ABSTRACT
The subject of the Indian Forest Service (IFS) has not received adequate attention from academics working on federal issues. Unlike other two AISs (Indian Administrative Service and Indian Police Service), despite the ever-expanding ambit, scope, role and importance of this service in addressing and dealing with issues around the conservation of the forest, biodiversity, the climate crisis, the environment and the productivity of forest and being a major actor in handling resource rights issues, the climate crisis and some of the livelihood concerns of forest-dwellers, including indigenous communities, to date it has not become subject matter of critical inquiry in the discipline of political science and public administration. Among several possible areas, the approach and vantage points of critically understanding the Indian Forest Service this chapter captures some degree of “uneasiness” of this service cadre arising out of its mandate and positioning in the institutional federal set up and arrangement of distribution of power between the three lists. The chapter primarily brings out points and issues of conflict between mandate of IFS officers with state governments and also touches on its role in forest and environmental governance, which presents a picture of play of various forces in the environment and forest protection and conservation.
