Bhubaneswar: Odisha Forest, Environment and Climate Change Minister Ganesh Ram Singkhuntia Tuesday informed the assembly that 4,609 hectares of forest were affected by fire incidents last year.
In a written reply to a query from Congress MLA Sagar, the minister said that a maximum of 644.53 hectares of forest were affected by fire incidents in Nabarangpur forest division, while 460.67 hectares of forest were damaged in fires in Khariar division.
Similarly, fires affected 395.63 hectares of forest in Phulbani division, followed by Sunabeda wildlife division (264.96 hectares), Rayagada (264.77 ha), Sundargarh (254.81 ha), Boudh (208.84 ha) and Jeypore (200.97 ha).
The state government has spent Rs 12.81 crore during the financial year 2024-25 for the prevention of forest fires. Besides, Rs 4 crore was utilised to carry out soil moisture conservation and plantation work in 2024-25, he said.
Informing the assembly about the preventive measures taken prior to the forest fire season, the minister said fire lines have been created inside the forest and in the areas adjacent to the forest boundary.
Forest and range level awareness campaigns are being undertaken, and mock drills on forest fire suppression are being conducted, he said.
Singkhuntia said 334 trained fire protection squads have been formed and 334 vehicles, 1,037 leaf blowers, fire extinguishers and sufficient fire safety kits have been provided for firefighting.
AI cameras have been installed in Simlipal to detect and send alerts in real time, while 24×7 control rooms have been set up at the state headquarters and forest department offices to manage wildfires, he added.
To receive fire alerts, the mobile numbers of the employees working in the department have been registered with the Forest Survey Institute (FSI) website, the minister stated.
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