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BHUBANESWAR: With the wildfire season looming, the forest department has asked the regional chief conservators of forests (RCCFs) to prepare a structured plan of action with special focus on divisions that had recorded significant spike in such incidents last year. PCCF and HoFF Suresh Pant told TNIE that preparedness for the ensuing forest fire season, which will commence from January, has already started and steps are being taken at the field-level to effectively deal with the situation. "We will hold a meeting of all forest circles in the state very soon to review their plans and preparedness," Pant said. Sources in the Forest department said approximately 4,600 hectare area was scorched during forest fire season 2025 between January and June, affecting multiple wildlife habitats as well as fringe areas. A total of 29,709 forest fire points, 20,839 inside forest boundaries and 8,870 outside forest boundaries, were detected in the last season compared to 22,868 forest fires including 17,014 inside forest boundary and 5,854 outside during the 2024 wildfire season. While the forest department responded to about 99.95 per cent of these wildfires during the 2025 season, the highest in last four years, sources said the state forest headquarters has expressed concern over the significant variation in fire incidents reported in some of the divisions in the said season.
Lucknow: UP is set to celebrate Van Mahotsav from July 1 to 7 under the guidance of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath wherein the forest and wildlife department plans to plant a record 35 crore saplings across Uttar Pradesh, the highest in country.The department, working in close coordination with various other departments, has gathered 52.33 crore saplings and completed advance soil work on 72,912 hectares of land.A review meeting led by forest and environment minister Arun Kumar Saxena was held fo ...Read More >
Bhubaneswar: Nature lovers have a fresh reason to visit Nandankanan Zoological Park in Odisha's Bhubaneswar, as the famed wildlife sanctuary welcomed seven baby yellow anacondas into its reptilian fold on Sunday -- a rare and exciting addition that underscores the zoo's growing reputation as a haven for exotic species. The tiny hatchlings were born to a breeding pair of yellow anacondas brought to Nandankanan from the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust in Chennai in October 2019. With these new arrivals, the zoo now proudly houses a thriving family of 14 yellow anacondas -- two adult males, two adul ...Read More >
Bhubaneswar: Zeenat, the three-year-old tigress from Maharashtra brought to Odisha's Similipal last year under translocation project, is believed to be pregnant after mating with a melanistic male tiger named T-12 Mahabal in May this year. If her pregnancy is confirmed, Zeenat would deliver cubs around August or September this year, said Prem Kumar Jha, Odisha's Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife). Love blossomed after Zeenat was released into the wild in April this year. She made the forests between Yamunagarh and Gudugudia in Similipal her new home. In May, she came across a r ...Read More >
New Delhi, Apr 7 (PTI) Over 225 acres of forest land in the national capital has been made encroachment-free across multiple forest divisions, according to official data, with the bulk of the clearance reported from the southern parts of the city. Data compiled by the forest department shows that around 91.15 hectares of land, roughly 225 acres, has been cleared of encroachments since 2019-20, primarily in the South and West forest divisions, while several other areas are still in the process of reconciliation with land-owning agencies. In the South Forest Division, the highest removal was r ...Read More >
Andhra Pradesh government launched a massive greening campaign on World Environment Day, initiating "Vana Mahotsav" and an "End Plastic Pollution" drive. The goal is to increase the state's green cover from 29 to 50 percent by planting one crore saplings statewide. The initiative includes advanced monitoring and aims to achieve 37 percent green cover by 2029.The Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday launched a massive greening campaign to mark World Environment Day, aiming to increase the state's ...Read More >
Bengaluru: Between 2020 and mid-2025, over 8 lakh saplings were planted across the city and over 19,904 fully grown trees were axed, largely to make way for development work such as roads and Namma Metro expansion.In 2020-21, the city experienced its most ambitious annual afforestation drive, with 2.6 lakh saplings planted and only 615 trees were felled.There is no record of any plantation drive during the following year, 2021-22, but 425 trees were removed, mostly for branch clearances and limited infrastructure work. "We don't have the records because it was a pandemic and there were not man ...Read More >
New Delhi, Oct 23: India has climbed to the ninth spot globally in total forest area while retaining its third rank in annual forest area gain, according to a new report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The Environment Ministry said the achievement reflects the success of India's large-scale afforestation initiatives and community-led forest protection efforts under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav described the rise from the 10th to 9th position as a "major achievement" in sustainable forest management and ecological con ...Read More >
Dehradun, Dec 17 (PTI) As Delhi virtually disappears behind its annual smog and toxic air chokes its residents, many heading for a sojourn in Dehradun seeking clean air may have to think twice. In the past two days, the Air Quality Index in Dehradun, nested in the mountain ranges of the Himalaya, slipped into the 'poor' category -- indicating that pollution is not limited to the plains. According to experts, the main reasons for the increasing pollution in Dehradun include the growing volume of vehicular traffic and the burning of waste. In addition, forest fires are also considered a major ...Read More >
MUMBAI: The lush green mangroves that largely remained untouched in Gorai and Dahisar will now be part of mangrove parks. The one in Gorai is likely to open on November 15, while work is still underway in Dahisar. Apart from the mangrove parks, the project in Gorai will also feature an integrated tourism hub with a Vintage Car Museum, a Wax Museum, and a Historical Event Museum. The Mangrove Cell is developing the mangrove parks, while the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) is de ...Read More >
Bengaluru: Exploring scientific solutions to reduce human-elephant conflict across Karnataka, the forest department Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) for landscape-level conservation of Asian elephants. Renowned ecologist and elephant expert from IISc, Prof Raman Sukumar, and Karnataka chief wildlife warden Prabhash Chandra Ray signed the commencement of the Rs 4.7-crore project, fully funded by the forest department.Admitting an increa ...Read More >
Guwahati: Amid Assam's most aggressive land reclamation drive to date, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he has ordered a sweeping crackdown on forest encroachments across all districts of the state.He said here on Friday that all district commissioners have been tasked with conducting immediate surveys and initiating evictions, sparing only those protected under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006). Th ...Read More >
Dehradun, Dec 17 (PTI) As Delhi virtually disappears behind its annual smog and toxic air chokes its residents, many heading for a sojourn in Dehradun seeking clean air may have to think twice. In the past two days, the Air Quality Index in Dehradun, nested in the mountain ranges of the Himalaya, slipped into the 'poor' category -- indicating that pollution is not limited to the plains. According to experts, the main reasons for the increasing pollution in Dehradun include the growing volume of vehicular traffic and the burning of waste. In addition, forest fires are also considered a major ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 3 (PTI) The Environment Ministry has strongly rejected allegations by forest rights groups that it is attempting to "subvert" the Forest Rights Act (FRA), calling them a "gross misunderstanding of facts" and asserting that it remains committed to both environmental protection and the welfare of forest-dependent communities. In a recent letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, more than 90 forest rights organisations had accused the ministry of trying to undermine the FRA and demanded that Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav clarify his reported statement that the "FRA leads to ...Read More >
CHENNAI: The state government notified the establishment of the Greater Flamingo Sanctuary at Dhanushkodi in Ramanathapuram on 524.78 hectares of land on the occasion of World Environment Day on Thursday. This apart, the state forest department also reinforced its workforce with a major recruitment drive and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) certified industries under the Voluntary Green Rating of Industries initiative, a first-of-its-kind. Marking the occasion, Chief Minister MK Stalin handed over the appointment letters along with the rating certificates to the industries. He ...Read More >
Guwahati, July 15: Every major eviction drive to reclaim Assam's encroachment forest and government lands is a result of painstaking legal groundwork, clearances from courts and not a sudden administrative action, said Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on Tuesday. Addressing concerns about the legality and impact of recent evictions across the state, Sarma told the press at Lok Sewa Bhawan in Dispur that the process of preparing for each eviction often takes years. "People think we can just go and remove encroachers overnight. But in reality, every single eviction you see - from Bura Chapo ...Read More >
Katra: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off a Vande Bharat train service between Katra and Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, the first train connection between the Kashmir valley and the Jammu region. Modi inaugurated the train in the presence of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha, and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, among others. Earlier, the PM inaugurated the Chenab Railway Bridge, the world's tallest rail bridge, and Anji Khad Bridge, the country's first cable-stayed railway bridge The Srinagar-Katra journey, which currently takes nearly six hour ...Read More >
Kota, Jun 6 (PTI) A relationship manager in an ICICI bank branch in Kota allegedly swindled around Rs 4.58 crore from customers' accounts only to lose the lot of it in the stock market, police on Friday said. She was arrested last week and is currently under judicial custody, they said. Also Read | Bengaluru Stampede: Police Complaint Lodged Against Virat Kohli Over Stampede Tragedy Near Chinnaswamy Stadium. The accused, Sakshi Gupta, was posted as a relationship manager at ICICI Bank's DCM branch. Police said she had been pilfering from more than 110 accounts belonging to 41 customers for ...Read More >
Mumbai, March 31: What began as a peaceful holiday in Thailand quickly turned into a terrifying ordeal for a couple after they discovered a venomous cobra inside their hotel room in Krabi. The shocking incident, which occurred in the early hours around 5 am, has now gone viral and raised serious concerns about safety in nature-adjacent accommodations. The incident came to light after a Facebook user, Kannuttakorn Uttaranakron, shared the chilling experience online. According to the post, the nightmare began when the guest's partner suddenly woke up in panic, screaming about a snake in the roo ...Read More >
Itanagar: A total of 89 different bird species were recorded during a two-day bird survey conducted by the Arunachal Pradesh Birding Club at Nongsaya Lake, located at Jona in Namsai district.The survey was conducted earlier this year in association with the public works department, Namsai division, conservationist Koj Mama said.Nongsaya Lake, situated around 9km from Namsai district headquarters, offers an opportunity for biodiversity protection. Its surrounding environment has the potential for bird and butterfly conservation, as well as providing natural spaces for environmental education an ...Read More >
Guwahati: A community forest in Meghalaya's Ri-Bhoi district has emerged as a significant biodiversity hotspot, with a recent study documenting a rich diversity of swallowtail butterflies, including several legally protected species. The findings highlight both the ecological importance and vulnerability of these landscapes. The study, conducted by A.D. Marbaniang and S.R. Hajong, recorded 15 species of swallowtail butterflies (Papilionidae) in the Saiden Community Forest over a year-long survey. The research underscores the crucial role community-managed forests play in biodiversity conserva ...Read More >
Senior advocate Nikhil Goel pointed out that some of the villages in the area were entirely dependent on sand mining. File The Supreme Court of India on Thursday (April 2, 2026) said the sand mining mafia, who carry "better weapons than the police" and kill those who come in their way with impunity, were the "modern dacoits" of Chambal. The oral observation from a Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was in response to an oft-repeated submission from the Madhya Pradesh government tha ...Read More >
Dehradun: Even as the four-month-long forest fire season in Uttarakhand is nearing its end, shockingly, the state forest department is still waiting for delivery of 7145 fire safety kits for its field staff, exposing the grim reality of the preparedness on ground. Every year, the period from February 15 to June 15 is considered the most challenging for the forest department personnel, as rising temperatures lead to widespread forest fires and destruction of hundreds of hectares of forest, causing significant ecological loss. Due to this, forest fires have been classified as disasters to ensur ...Read More >
Kolkata, Oct 6 (PTI) Devastating floods triggered by torrential rains in north Bengal have swept away several wild animals from the forests of the Dooars region, with at least seven animal deaths reported so far, a senior forest department official said on Monday. Large volumes of water from swollen rivers -- including Torsha, Jaldhaka, Kaljani and Diana -- inundated vast stretches of forest in the region, leaving little time for forest personnel to respond or rescue animals, Chief Wildlife Warden (CWW) Sandeep Sundriyal told PTI. He said that initial reports suggested that one rhinos, two l ...Read More >
Chandigarh: EcoSikh, a global non-governmental organisation (NGO) and a response from the Sikh community to the threats of climate change and the deterioration of the natural environment, has unveiled a plan for the revival of the 'Baaj' - the raptor associated with Guru Gobind Singh.The plan will be implemented in collaboration with the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) - a Mumbai-based 140-year-old organisation. The idea is to rehabilitate the 'Baaj' or Northern Goshawk, the official bird o ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram: As serious concerns grows over the rising human-animal conflicts near the forest fringes across central Kerala districts mainly the hinterlands of Ernakulam and across Idukki and Kottayam, the state forest department is all set to launch a mobile application today enabling public to report incidents and sightings to the forest department office. Even though there are locally prepared applications in certain areas of Wayanad which helps monitoring the wild animals, it is confined to few regions of the state. Named as 'Wildwatch', the App will enable near real-time reporting ...Read More >
Gandhinagar: The state govt said on Wednesday that the Khijadiya bird sanctuary strengthened its unique identity in Gujarat's eco-tourism sector by attracting over 52,400 visitors in 2024-25. The govt added that the sanctuary, located near Jamnagar, will be showcased at the Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference (VGRC) for Saurashtra-Kutch next month as a model of sustainable development.The govt said in a statement that Kutch and Saurashtra are evolving into leading tourist destinations in the state, offering a blend of natural landscapes, wildlife, coastal beauty, spiritual sites and rich cultu ...Read More >
Guwahati (Assam) [India], June 6 (ANI): As part of an initiative by the Department of Forest and Environment, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday attended the World Environment Day event held at Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra in Guwahati. He flagged off 129 vehicles allocated to the Forest and Environment Department to support ongoing environmental protection efforts. He also launched a dedicated web portal and distributed arms to the commandos of three battalions of the Assam Forest Protection Force. CM Sarma said that, Assam in line with global observance, is marking Worl ...Read More >
Raipur, Jul 3 (PTI) Faced with mounting protests, the Chhattisgarh forest department on Thursday withdrew its directive that had effectively barred all other government departments, NGOs and private entities from undertaking any activity concerning Community Forest Resource Rights (CFRR). Forest Minister Kedar Kashyap has directed that the advisory be withdrawn, the department said in a statement. The directive was perceived by a section of society as an attempt to restrict rights, it said. Also Read | Fuel Ban Order on Overage Vehicles Not Feasible Now Due to Tech Challenges, Put on Hold: D ...Read More >
MUMBAI: HUL on Thursday named Priya Nair, who heads parent Unilever's beauty & wellbeing business, as MD & CEO. Nair, who joined HUL 30 years ago, will be the first woman to lead the consumer goods giant. The London-based Nair, 53, will take over the corner office in Mumbai on Aug 1, succeeding Rohit Jawa who will step down as MD & CEO on July 31. Jawa, who led HUL for a little over two years, was appointed for a five-year term ending June 26, 2028. His predecessor Sanjiv Mehta had held the CEO's office for 10 years. Nair has been appointed for five years. Analysts termed the development as su ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], July 15 (ANI): In a major push to promote healthier lifestyles and combat the rise of obesity and Non-Communicable Diseases like diabetes and heart disease among others, the Union Health Ministry has proposed to prominently display boards indicating the amount of oil and sugar content in popular snacks, such as pizzas and burgers as well as samosas, vada paav, kachori among others, in schools, offices, institutions, Departments/Offices/autonomous bodies and organisations. Also Read | College Student Sexually Assaulted in Bengaluru: 2 Lecturers, Friend Arrested for Raping an ...Read More >