Bhubaneswar, Sept. 22 (UDN): Odisha reported 73,418 forest fire incidents between 2024 and 2026, damaging or affecting 11,732.561 hectares of forest land, Forest, Environment and Climate Change Minister Ganesh Ram Singhkhuntia informed the Assembly on Tuesday.
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The figures were provided in a written reply to Balangir MLA Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo.
CAMPA Funds And Expenditure
The minister also placed details before the House regarding funds received by Odisha from the National Authority of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) under the Annual Plan of Operations (APO).
The state had received Rs 10,229.52 crore from the National Authority up to August 25, 2026. With interest of Rs 1,673.64 crore accrued up to September 10, the total funds, including interest, stood at Rs 11,903.16 crore.
Of this amount, Rs 6,881.23 crore had been utilised under various APOs, while Rs 4,939.60 crore was invested in ATB and government loans up to May 12, 2026. The balance available with the state stood at Rs 82.33 crore.
Over 12,700 Ha Forest Land Diverted
The minister further informed the Assembly that 12,794.448 hectares of forest land had been diverted for non-forest purposes during the five-year period from 2021-22 to 2025-26.
Against the diverted forest land, compensatory afforestation was stipulated over 23,392.337 hectares. By the end of 2025-26, compensatory afforestation had been completed over 10,155.089 hectares.
16,245 Forest Protection Committees Active
According to the government data, Odisha currently has 16,245 Van Suraksha Samitis functioning across the state to support forest fire prevention and protection measures.
The figures underline the scale of forest fire incidents in the state while also detailing the government’s ongoing expenditure, compensatory afforestation and community-based forest protection efforts.
