PORVORIM: The Opposition members on Thursday grilled Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane over forest fires that rocked the State this year, alleging that it was man-made to promote real estate lobby.
Replying to a starred question jointly tabled by MLAs Carlos Ferreira, Cruz Silva and Vijai Sardesai, the Forest Minister said that out of 480 hectares that was affected by forest fires, 365 hectares was majorly moist deciduous and semi-green forest type which cannot be converted.
The Opposition charged that forest fires were the handiwork of real estate lobby. Sardesai sought a specific assurance from the Forest Minister that the forest affected by fires will not be converted at any cost.
The Minister denied that there was any involvement of builder lobby in forest fires reported in many parts of the State and that fires were reported mostly in moderately dense forest and classified under less fire-prone category, as per the India State of Forest Report, 2021, of the Forest Survey of India.
He said that however, Forest Department considering that Goa being one among the Global Biodiversity Hotspot with ecologically fragile ecosystem, all the forest area is given top most priority for forest fire prevention activities like awareness creation, creation of fire line, undertaking control burning, etc. Fire risk zones are prepared based on the spatial analysis of decadal fire incidents data, based on recurrence forest fire in same area.
Refuting the Opposition charge that forest fires were deliberately put, the Minister said that trackers were in place to check the fire incidents in the forest areas.
Rane said that preliminary assessment of damage caused by fire incidents has been completed and that new technologies will be introduced by the Forest Department to prevent recurrence of such incidents when Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas sought to know whether fire lines were in place and that there were predictions about recurrence of fires next year. He said that fire lines are created across risky and identified areas by making a buffer by removing dry combustible material in a width of minimum two metres across forest floor to break continuity of fire creeping on forest floor.
Referring to a demand made by Leader of the Opposition Yuri Alemao to declare fire-affected areas as No Development Zone (NDZ), the Minister said that the Forest Department is following all the laws and rules. He said that the government has accorded top priority for forest fires and had adopted multipronged approach for management of forest fires such as fire watches to monitor and contain forest fire.
The minister said, “Forest Department does not have enrolled community fire fighters, however details of community fire fighters (Aapda Mitra) available with Department of Fire and Emergency Services for the State, whose service would be used by Forest Department on as is, where is basis.”
He said, “However, Goa Forest Department considering that Goa being one among the Global Biodiversity Hotspot with ecologically fragile ecosystem, all the forest area is given top most priority for forest fire prevention activities like awareness creation, empowering and engaging forest fringe village communities, creation of fire line, undertaking control burning etc. Fire risk zones are prepared based on the spatial analysis of decadal fire incidents data, based on recurrence forest fire in same area.
Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai alleged that there was no coordination between government departments and demanded that government should implement assisted natural regeneration.
