Kashmir Impulse Desk
Srinagar, Aug 13
Jammu and Kashmir received Rs 11.08 lakh in central assistance for forest fire prevention and management in 2025-26, ending a four-year period during which no funds were released to the Union Territory under the scheme, government data showed.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said the money was released under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme on Forest Fire Prevention and Management.
No funds were released to Jammu and Kashmir during 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24 or 2024-25, according to data tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
The Centre also said Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were not covered by a separate forest-fire mitigation programme funded through the National Disaster Mitigation Fund.
The Mitigation Scheme for Forest Fire Risk Management covers 144 high-priority fire-prone districts across 19 states and has an approved outlay of Rs 818.92 crore.
The figures were provided in response to a parliamentary question concerning the implementation of the National Action Plan on Forest Fire, 2018.
The national action plan sets out measures to prevent and manage forest fires and strengthen forests’ resilience to fire hazards.
States and Union Territories have been advised to prepare action plans aligned with the national framework.
Nationally, the Centre released Rs 164.90 crore under the forest-fire prevention scheme between 2021-22 and 2025-26.
Annual releases were Rs 34.26 crore in 2021-22, Rs 28.25 crore in 2022-23, Rs 39.18 crore in 2023-24, Rs 30.76 crore in 2024-25 and Rs 31.68 crore in 2025-26.
The government said India had also strengthened early-warning and monitoring mechanisms. The Forest Survey of India operates the satellite-based Forest Fire Alert System, FAST 3.0, which provides advance pre-fire warnings, near-real-time alerts and alerts on large forest fires to registered users and forest officials.
Other tools include the Van Agni Geo-portal, fire-danger ratings, risk-zonation maps and mapping of fire-prone areas.
The ministry said standard operating procedures had been issued for prevention, mitigation and response across different forest types, while a Forest Fire Preparedness Index had been developed and firefighting equipment standardised.
A 24-hour disaster-management control room monitors incidents and coordinates with central and state agencies, including the Ministry of Home Affairs, the National Disaster Management Authority and the National Disaster Response Force.
