Mumbai (21 March 2023)– Pravinsingh Pardeshi, I.A.S., a Retired Senior IAS Officer has been unanimously elected as the President of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), India’s 140-year-old renowned organisation.
He was currently serving as the Vice President of BNHS. The Governing Council of the BNHS has now elected him as its President. Members of the Council – Rohan Bhate, Usha Lachungpa, Dr.Anish Andheria, Kedar Gore, Peter Lobo, Kulojyoti Lahkar, R. Sreenivasa Murthy, Dr.Raghunandan Chundawat, Dr.Asad Rahmani, Dr. V. Shubhalxmi, Dr. Parvish Pandya, Vice President Ms.Shloka Nath, Honorary Treasurer Mr.Kunjan Gandhi elected Pardeshi unanimously.
BNHS, one of India’s leading wildlife research organizations, has been doing major work for nature conservation in India and abroad since 1883. The mission of the organization is to work on research-based conservation projects and conserve biodiversity. BNHS is conducting several bird and wildlife research programmes, and nature education and awareness programmes. BNHS has done outstanding work in the conservation of many endangered wildlife species and their habitats and is India’s premier scientific organization with independent scientific opinion.
Honorary Secretary of BNHS, Kishor Rithe stated that the BNHS will reach to new heights in the field of wildlife conservation and research with the appointment of Pravinsingh Pardeshi as President.
Pravinsingh Pardeshi is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Officer from 1985 batch. During his long career as an IAS officer, Pardeshi has held various posts ranging from Chief Executive Officer, Collector, Divisional Commissioner to Additional Chief Secretary of Maharashtra state.
Pardeshi has also served in the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) as a Global Program Coordinator. He also worked on relief and resettlement programme during Latur and Bhuj earthquakes and also helped many countries to restore from the tsunami impact.
He worked as a Commissioner in Mumbai Municipal Corporation in 2019 as well as in various departments like Chief Minister’s Office, Forest, Environment, Finance, Urban Development, Irrigation, Tribal Development, and Revenue. As a Principal Secretary (Forest), he implemented several innovative schemes in the forest and wildlife areas of Maharashtra.
Pravinsingh Pardeshi has served as a Member of the National Capacity Building Commission constituted under the Prime Minister’s Office at New Delhi. Also recently, he has been appointed as the Chairman of the Maharashtra Institute for Transformation – MITRA which is the state’s NITI Aayog. He is known as an avid wildlife lover and has in-depth knowledge of wildlife management in India and abroad. Pardeshi’s vast experience will be used to achieve substantial progress in this field of wildlife research and conservation.