Stay updated with breaking news from Goa Forest Fires. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
The report said that the role and intention of forest right claimants, under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), in kindling fires were also being probed.
The report added that at this stage, all forest divisions were perceiving the cause of the fires in forest areas to be “man-made, though largely unintentional”.
The state forest department's report suggests that a conducive environment and extreme weather conditions — deficient rainfall in the preceding season, unusually high temperatures, low moisture and humidity — led to the fires.
The fires had sparked not just ecological concerns but also political theories – Goa’s Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane had said that prima facie, they appeared to be “man-made” and “deliberate”
A participatory form of forest management will not only increase the effectiveness of any fire warning systems but also reduce costs for the forest department.