Bhubaneswar: Forest minister Ganesh Ram Singhkhuntia on Tuesday expressed deep concern over the increasing incidents of forest fires in the state over the past few years. Speaking at the DFOs conference he asked forest officials in areas with frequent fire incidents to remain more vigilant.He also instructed the department to realign its programmes considering the severe impact of climate change and to create sustainable livelihood opportunities for relocated villagers through schemes like Odisha Forestry Sector Development Projects (OFSDP). He asked the officials to take strong measures to strengthen the department’s human resources.
Regarding elephant deaths, the minister suggested conducting a detailed review and maintaining close coordination with the electricity department. “There is a need to keep a direct watch on elephant movements and activities of field squads. Emphasis should be laid on improving air quality in industrial areas like Talcher and extensive tree planting in districts like Balasore to maintain environmental balance,” the minister said.The minister also gave clear instructions to officers to take firm action against illegal mining and encroachment of forest land.Forest secretary Bhaskar Jyoti Sharma highlighted the need to expedite processes related to human-wildlife conflict, livelihood creation, and various legal clearances in the forest department.The heads of the 8 regional forest conservation circles —Angul, Baripada, Berhampur, Bhawanipatna, Koraput, Sambalpur, Rourkela, and Bhubaneswar — presented their respective issues and successes. Tourism officials discussed maintaining coordination between the tourism and forest departments.
