Amid long dry spell, 74 sporadic forest fires in Goa in early March, Rajya Sabha told

Responding to a written question by Rajya Sabha member and former Goa CM Luizinho Faleiro, Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, gave the figures and told the House, “Although most forest fires were doused the same day, the fires reported in inaccessible, far-flung hilly areas were controlled or doused by ground teams with aerial support of the IAF.”

Choubey said that as per India State of Forest Report (ISFR)-2021, the state’s total forest cover is 2,244 sq km, or 60.62% of its geographical area. “Due to the recent forest fire incidents in the state, an area of about 4.18 sq km is reported to be affected, including 2.27 sq km area affected in the three wildlife sanctuaries,” he said.

Faleiro had asked about the recent fires in Goa’s wildlife sanctuaries, the reasons behind them, and whether any assessment had been made regarding areas affected by such fire incidents.

On a question on whether forest area had been encroached by the people, and whether the government had set up NDRF to combat such fires, Choubey said, “The forest area under encroachment in Goa is nil. Two NDRF battalions have been trained for combating forest fires.”

The issue of forest fires in Goa was discussed in the recent Budget Session of the Assembly, too, with the opposition parties seeking a high-level probe to investigate whether they were natural or manmade.

In reply to a calling attention motion on the issue, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had said that the existing state action plan on forest fires was being revamped and a comprehensive action plan for management of forest fires was under consideration.

Unlike in the past, this year has seen more reports of forest fires in Goa, starting March first week, which is a “new phenomenon” for the state, Sawant had said in the Assembly. “This year, it is informed that extreme weather conditions have been recorded and there has been no or scant rains since mid-October and above-average temperatures and very low humidity is being seen. The Forest Department, along with participation of communities, district authorities, including fire services, doused 77 fires since March 2023.”