Bhubaneswar: Minister for Forest, Environment and Climate Change (FE&CC) Ganesh Ram Singkhuntia Tuesday chaired a high-level Divisional Forest Officers (DFO) Conference here, expressing serious concern over the rising incidents of forest fires in the state in recent years.
He directed forest officials in fire-prone divisions to remain extra vigilant and proactive.
Underscoring the need to balance forest conservation with livelihood, the minister emphasised the growing impact of climate change and instructed the department to realign its programmes accordingly in order to create sustainable livelihood opportunities for relocated villagers through schemes such as OFDSP.
Reviewing the issue of elephant deaths in the state, the minister called for better coordination with the Energy department and asked DFOs to maintain direct supervision over elephant movement tracking and field squad operations.
In order to ensure environmental balance, the minister also stressed the need to improve air quality in industrial areas like Talcher and undertake large-scale plantation drives in districts such as Balasore.
He also issued strict instructions for firm action against illegal mining and encroachment on forest land.
The meeting was attended by the department’s Principal Secretary Bhaskar Jyoti Sharma, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Forest Force Suresh Pant, PCCF (Wildlife) P K Jha, PCCF (Kenduleaf) Uma Nanduri, along with other senior forest officials.
Sharma spoke on human–wildlife conflict mitigation, livelihood generation, and the need to expedite statutory clearance processes within the department. PCCF and HoFF Suresh Pant shared updates on the success of major afforestation initiatives, including the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign.