Banerjee received global attention for the Arabari project in West Bengal, India where he introduced the JFM concept for the first time in 1972.

The Government did not approve the scheme initially, but when International acclamation started reaching in, the JFM was accepted and expanded to other parts of the state during 1987 and onward.. JFM is the official and popular term in India for partnerships in forest movement involving both the state forest departments and local communities.

The Bank funded the West Bengal Social Forestry Project which was restructured in 1987 to include a JFM component.

The West Bengal Forest Directorate issued a Circular in 1989 to officially endorse the JFM approach, and in 1990, the government agreed to entitle the FPCs to a quarter of the net profits from the sale of timber.

[5] Banerjee acted as a senior forestry specialist in the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Asia Technical Department of the World Bank.

He was also president of CEMO, FACE, secretary of the Kolkata chapter of Transparency International, and member of IDSK.