Goa Minister Vishwajit Rane on Thursday said 480 hectares of forests were destroyed in fires this year, including 365 hectares of moist, deciduous and semi-green forests.
Speaking in the Assembly, he said the state was preparing an action plan to tackle such fires, including appointing trackers to work with forest guards in areas which are prone to such incidents.
He was responding to questions on the subject by Congress MLA Carlos Fereira, who wanted to know if there was any real estate lobby link to these fires.
Refuting such links, the minister said, “Where is the question of real estate lobby or vested interest? Give me evidence in which wildlife sanctuary any deal has been stuck.” The 104 fires that were reported in the state during the year were brought under control by various agencies, including through deployment of Navy and Indian Air Force aircraft on the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said Rane.