SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir has emerged among the significant Himalayan regions affected by forest fires in the 2023–24 season, with 438.86 square kilometres of burnt area recorded by the Forest Survey of India. The Union Government told the Lok Sabha that while forest protection is primarily the responsibility of States and Union Territories, the Centre has been issuing real-time fire alerts, supporting fire-line creation, and strengthening early-warning systems across Jammu and Kashmir and other vulnerable regions.
Replying to a question by Raja Ram Singh, Minister of State Kirti Vardhan Singh said forest fires across the country stem from a mix of natural and human factors. Rising temperatures, erratic rainfall and heavy accumulation of dry fuel have intensified risks in hill states, including Jammu and Kashmir, where prolonged dry spells have increased the vulnerability of pine forests. The Government said the Forest Survey of India continues to provide satellite-based pre-fire alerts, near-real-time fire alerts and major-fire alerts to all States and Union Territories, including Jammu and Kashmir, enabling quicker response on the ground.
The Minister said that a nationwide remote-sensing system is already operational for high-risk states such as Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and that similar coverage is available for the Himalayan belt. A national-level burnt-area assessment for the 2023–24 fire season recorded a total of 34,562 square kilometres affected across India, with Jammu and Kashmir accounting for close to 440 square kilometres, while neighbouring Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh reported 1,808.90 and 783.11 square kilometres respectively.
Responding to concerns raised about the lack of firefighting infrastructure in Uttarakhand despite severe fires in 2024, the Government said States are responsible for ground-level deployment of staff, protective gear, vehicles and communication systems, while the Centre supplements these efforts through technology and financial support. It said three specialised national teams trained with NDMA and NDRF are now available for large fire incidents.
The Ministry said State and Union Territory administrations receive funds through the Centrally Sponsored Scheme on Forest Fire Prevention and Management for fire-line construction, watcher deployment, procurement of equipment, creation of water storage structures, awareness drives and restoration of burnt areas. Over the past five financial years, Rs 32.47 crore to Rs 39.18 crore have been released annually under this scheme. Forest fire detections have fluctuated over the last five seasons, from 3,45,989 alerts in 2020–21 to 2,03,544 in 2023–24, rising again to 2,38,309 in the ongoing 2024–25 season.
The Government said national forest-fire monitoring and early-warning systems are now fully operational, but effective prevention and firefighting depend on the readiness and capacity of individual States and Union Territories, especially in ecologically fragile mountain regions such as Jammu and Kashmir.
