Manipur Forest Minister Th Biswajit informed the House on Thursday that some people who are against the eviction work carried out by the Forest department in the last few months might be involved in causing the wildfires at hills.
He informed the House in response to a starred question raised by opposition MLA K Ranjit Singh during the ongoing third session of 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly.
Responding to the starred question, Biswajit said that a total reserved forest area of 14,699.04 hectares were affected due to wildfire during the period of 2019 to January 2023, according to a report issued by North East Space Application Centre (NESAC), Shillong.
He said that around 95 per cent of the wildfires are man-made; however, the rate of wildfires has fallen down since 2019 till date. From 2019 to February 2023, a total of six persons were arrested in connection with man-made wildfires at Reserve Forest Areas, he mentioned. Among the arrested persons, one has been made to pay a fine of Rs 5,500 by chief judicial magistrate, Jiribam and five arrested persons are facing trial at court, he added.
He said that various initiatives are being undertaken as preventive measures to prevent wildfires under the instruction of the chief minister of Manipur. Fire services are also kept at alert to take necessary steps for prevention of widespread wildfires in case they occur, he added.
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