THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Cabinet meeting decided to appoint Principal Chief Conservator Ganga Singh as the head of the forest department. Currently, he is holding the position of Chief Wildlife Warden. The appointment is to fill the vacancy of Forest Chief Conservator Bennichan Thomas who is retiring on 31st of this month. Although the name of Principal Chief Conservator D Jayaprasad, Planning and Development, was also discussed, Ganga Singh was selected. Jayaprasad may be appointed as the new Chief Wildlife Warden.

Ganga Singh, a native of Uttarakhand, is a 1988 batch Kerala cadre IFS officer. He joined as Assistant Deputy Forest Conservator of North Wayanad in 1991. He was Deputy Forest Conservator at Kozhikode (World Food Programme), Thiruvananthapuram (World Food Programme), Thiruvananthapuram Social Forestry Division and Mannarkkad Silent Valley National Park. From November 2020 to June 2022, he was the Principal Chief Conservator of Vigilance and Forest Intelligence at the Forest Department Headquarters. He became Chief Wildlife Warden on 17 June 2022. Wife Bijia.