Provincial Forest Service (Uttarakhand)

Provincial Forest Service
Prāntīya Vana Sevā

Service overview
Also known as	Uttarakhand Forest Service
Founded	15 May 2001
State	Uttarakhand
Staff college	Central Academy for State Forest Service, Dehradun, Uttarakhand[1]
Cadre controlling authority	Department of Forest, Government of Uttarakhand
Minister responsible	Subodh Uniyal, Minister of Forest and Wildlife
Legal personality	Governmental: Natural resources
Duties	Forestry, Wildlife, Environmental science and Ecology
Selection	State Forest Service Examination conducted by the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission
Association	Uttarakhand PFS Association
Head of the Provincial Civil Services
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Head of the Uttarakhand Forest Forces)	Dhananjai Mohan, IFS

Provincial Forest Service (IAST: Prāntīya Vana Sevā), often abbreviated to as PFS, is one of the natural resource services under Group 'A' and Group 'B' state service of Government of Uttarakhand, India. It is responsible for ensuring the ecological stability of the country via thorough protection and participatory sustainable forestry, wildlife and environment. It is also the feeder service for Indian Forest Service in the state.^[2]

The Department of Forest of the Government of Uttarakhand is the cadre-controlling authority of the service. Along with the two state civil services which are Provincial Civil Service (PCS) and the Provincial Police Service (PPS), the PFS is one of the three feeder services to its respective All India Services.

One-third of the PFS quota is filled by promotion from forest rangers' cadre, and the remainder of recruitment is done on the basis of an annual competitive examination conducted by Uttarakhand Public Service Commission. PFS officers, regardless of their mode of entry, are appointed by the Governor of Uttarakhand.

The typical functions performed by a PFS officer are:

• Conservation of precious forest resources while understanding the larger policies of the government to protect and preserve the heritage of the forest and its resources.

• Provincial Civil Service (Uttarakhand)
• Provincial Police Service (Uttarakhand)