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In Lok Sabha, The Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change said that the Forest Survey of India has reported alarming numbers of forest fires detected over the past five years using the SNPP-VIIRS sensor – 2,10,286, 1,24,473, 3,45,989, 2,23,333, and 2,12,249, respectively. The numbers raise concerns about the escalating threat of forest fires across the nation.
Specifically, the Vagamon area of Kottayam forest division in Kerala has been under scrutiny for forest fire incidents from 2017-18 to 2022-23.
The report provided by the State Government of Kerala reveals that significant damage has been reported during this period. Notably, during 2021-22 and 2022-23, no forest areas were reported to be damaged in the Vagamon area of Kerala.
State-wise Forest fire data
| State/UT | Nov 2018-Jun 2019 | Nov 2019-Jun 2020 | Nov 2020-Jun 2021 | Nov 2021-Jun 2022 | Nov 2022-Jun 2023 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 37 | 39 | 16 | 33 | 20 | 125 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 15,746 | 9,996 | 19,328 | 14,138 | 19,367 | 68,575 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 2,617 | 1,786 | 3,914 | 3,449 | 2,447 | 13,123 |
| Assam | 5,935 | 8,924 | 10,718 | 8,158 | 9,830 | 42,565 |
| Bihar | 2,450 | 614 | 5,179 | 3,024 | 3,793 | 14,060 |
| Chandigarh | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Chhattisgarh | 25,750 | 6,360 | 38,106 | 25,792 | 20,306 | 95,214 |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli | 19 | 21 | 33 | 15 | 15 | 83 |
| Daman & Diu | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| Delhi | 20 | 21 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 65 |
| Goa | 140 | 47 | 45 | 20 | 147 | 379 |
| Gujarat | 2,885 | 2,770 | 3,803 | 2,769 | 2,342 | 13,069 |
| Haryana | 135 | 68 | 152 | 135 | 82 | 472 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 1,446 | 536 | 4,110 | 5,280 | 704 | 12,076 |
| J&K and Ladakh | 661 | 438 | 1,098 | 4,282 | 151 | 7,520 |
| Jharkhand | 6,221 | 2,613 | 21,713 | 9,419 | 11,923 | 51,889 |
| Karnataka | 8,078 | 4,232 | 5,784 | 4,973 | 13,074 | 35,251 |
| Kerala | 1,162 | 864 | 296 | 504 | 1,550 | 4,276 |
| Lakshadweep | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 22,108 | 9,537 | 47,795 | 32,728 | 17,142 | 120,200 |
Other states
| Maharashtra | 26,939 | 14,018 | 34,025 | 22,052 | 16,119 |
| Manipur | 7,384 | 8,800 | 10,457 | 5,544 | 10,127 |
| Meghalaya | 5,797 | 6,762 | 7,658 | 6,322 | 6,604 |
| Mizoram | 7,597 | 7,361 | 12,846 | 8,734 | 5,798 |
| Nagaland | 2,898 | 2,905 | 4,975 | 3,471 | 3,882 |
| Odisha | 19,159 | 10,602 | 51,968 | 22,014 | 33,461 |
| Puducherry | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Punjab | 214 | 153 | 635 | 428 | 119 |
| Rajasthan | 3,025 | 3,461 | 3,402 | 2,703 | 2,059 |
| Sikkim | 64 | 47 | 63 | 26 | 49 |
| Tamil Nadu | 4,402 | 1,368 | 1,220 | 1,035 | 1,998 |
| Telangana | 15,262 | 12,132 | 18,237 | 13,737 | 13,117 |
| Tripura | 3,083 | 4,369 | 5,015 | 2,609 | 4,332 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 4,428 | 1,548 | 8.608 | 5.428 | 3.235 |
| Uttarakhand | 12.965 | 759 | 21.487 | 12.985 | 5.351 |
| West Bengal | 1.653 | 1.320 | 3.287 | 1.520 | 3.096 |
National Action Plan on Forest Fire
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has proactively prepared a comprehensive National Action Plan on Forest Fire. This strategic framework is designed to bolster preparedness, control measures, and swift responses to forest fires through collaboration with state forest departments.
The plan underscores multiple priorities. One of these priorities revolves around engaging forest fringe communities and encouraging their partnership with Forest Departments in combating and preventing forest fires. This community-driven approach seeks to reduce forest vulnerability to fire hazards and enhance the capacity of forest personnel and institutions in effectively combating fires. Moreover, the plan focuses on the restoration of areas affected by forest fires.
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