1,318 forest fires in Himachal, CM Sukhu tells officials to take strict measures
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DHARAMSHALA: Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has expressed serious concern over forest fire incidents in Himachal Pradesh and directed the Forest Department to take concerted efforts to address the issue.
Presiding over a meeting of the Forest Department here on Monday (June 3, 2024), Chief Minister Sukhu instructed the department staff to initiate long-term measures along with the immediate initiatives to curb the problem.
He stressed on the people’s participation in these efforts and said that the number of forest fire incidents were gradually decreasing.
The Chief Minister said that 1,318 fire incidents have been recorded so far this year, affecting 12,718 hectares of land, including 2,789 hectares plantation area, causing preliminary financial loss of Rs 4.61 crore. He said that to mitigate the losses, the state government is contemplating to form a dedicated battalion of NDRF, specially equipped and trained for firefighting to reduce the losses to the forest area.
In addition, he said that 374 forest beats are highly sensitive for forest fires and called for strengthening the fire tackling services in these areas.
Sukhvinder Sukhu emphasised on diversifying the conifer plants regions with specific plant species of the area to help retain the moisture and reduce the number of fire incidents. He also directed the Forest Department to conduct a study from the government agency to look into the causes of fire incidents and recommend necessary actions.
Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan, Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena, Additional Chief Secretary Onkar Chand Sharma, Principal Secretary Forests Amandeep Garg, Secretary to Chief Minister Rakesh Kanwar, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Rajiv Kumar and senior officers of the department attended the meeting.
