NGT expressed concern over increasing forest fires. (PTI)
Digital Desk, New Delhi. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued notices to the Centre, state governments and several statutory authorities on a plea seeking comprehensive guidelines to address the increasing forest fires across the country. The bench heard the original petition highlighting the "rapid and worrying" growth in ecologically sensitive areas like the Himalayas and the Western Ghats.
Issuing notice to the respondents, the tribunal directed the petitioner to serve copies of the petition and file the affidavit at least a week before the date of next hearing. The next hearing on this case will be on April 23.
Expert member Dr. A. The petitioners, before a bench headed by Justice Prakash Srivastava and including Senthil Vel, sought directions to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to file a timely status report on the implementation of the National Forest Fire Action Plan, functioning of the National Fire Warning and Control Systems and release and utilization of funds under forest fire prevention schemes.
The petition also sought the formation of a national fire-risk governance framework, which includes scientific fire-risk zoning, preparation of priority-based seasonal action plans and standardized pan-India operating procedures for forest fire prevention, detection, response and post-fire recovery.
The petition cites recent incidents reported in January 2026, including a forest fire along the Triund trekking route in Himachal Pradesh, the early onset of fires in the Western Ghats and a forest fire in Uttarakhand amid lack of snow and dry winter conditions.
Maharashtra recorded 8,091 forest fire cases between January and September 2025, an increase of 56 per cent compared to the total cases in 2024, with the majority of incidents reported from Gadchiroli, Chandrapur and Amravati, data obtained through an RTI query said.
Senior advocate Kunal Tandon for the petitioner submitted that despite prior guidelines issued by the NGT in 2019 on forest fire management, the implementing agencies have shown failure to comply at the ground level.
(With inputs from news agency IANS)
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