Santosh Tewari (IFS) takes charge as Director General of Forests

New Delhi: Senior Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Santosh Tewari has taken charge as the Director General of Forests (DGF) and Special Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).

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A 1993-batch Bihar-cadre IFS officer, Tewari was serving as Additional Director General of Forests (Forest Conservation) at the ministry's headquarters in New Delhi before his elevation. With his appointment, he becomes the senior-most forest officer in the Central Government.

Tewari succeeds Sushil Kumar Awasthi, a 1991-batch Uttar Pradesh-cadre IFS officer, whose tenure as DGF ended on September 30.

With over 32 years of experience in the Indian Forest Service, Tewari has held several positions in Bihar's forest administration, regional offices of the Environment Ministry and at the Centre.

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He served as Deputy Director General of Forests at the Integrated Regional Office in Ranchi from 2021 to 2023, followed by a posting at the ministry's Regional Office in Dehradun from 2023 to 2025.

Tewari holds M.Sc. and M.Tech degrees. In November 2025, he was also given additional charge as Director General of the Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun.

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