He's a rare senior official who works overtime to make the lives of forest dwellers easier.

For 49-year-old Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Sanjeev Kumar, working for people living in and around forests of Jharkhand is more than just a job.

And because of his selfless and pioneering work to uplift the lives of forest fringe dwellers that he was conferred with the coveted Mahatma Jyotiba Phule National Fellowship Award this month.

An award of Bharatiya Dalit Sahitya Akademi, it recognised Kumar for not only providing job opportunities to forest inhabitants but also training them in skills.

Kumar got his certificate and medal at his residence in Jamshedpur on Tuesday from a representative of the Akademi as he could not attend the formal ceremony held in Mumbai on December 12.

The 1992 batch officer, originally from Gaya, worked relentlessly for forest people as district forest officer (DFO) in different parts of the state including Dhanbad where he worked from 2005-10. He taught forest-dwellers in Dhanbad, Gumla and Jamshedpur, among others, lac cultivation, silk rearing and stitching thereby giving them various avenues of employment.

"You can't only visit forests to plant trees. I decided to help the rural economy with traditional livelihood options including silk rearing and lac cultivation so that forest officers do not treat the forest dwellers as aliens," he said.

Currently posted as the conservator of forests and working plan in Jamshedpur, Kumar has been the recipient of several awards including the Industry Department award for two consecutive years for promoting silk rearing in Dhanbad in 2009 and 2010.