Pune: Pune is set to witness first ‘Forest Fire Conference’ of all stakeholder agencies to figure out multiple issues about jurisdictions and fast response to fires in the hills and forest areas, forest department officials said. They also stated that they will also conduct anti-encroachment drives for hills around the city.
Rahul Patil, Deputy Conservator of Forest for Pune has said that The Forest Fire Conference in Pune will see representatives from the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authorities (PMRDA)Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), fire brigades from these bodies, district administration, NGOs, citizens’ group and others in the jurisdiction.
One of the key objective of the conference will be figuring out issues related to jurisdiction. A special officer from each of these bodies will be chosen and these officers will coordinate with the agencies while responding to fire at forests and hills.
The areas of the forest on the upper plateaus of the hills in most cases are fixed as reserved forests and are under the control of the forest department of the state, while the slopes of the hills are either privately owned or are under revenue department.
Pune has number of hills in city as well as in its adjacent areas. Vetal Tekdi, Taljai, Tukai hill and more are some of the famous ones in the city. Many NGOs and citizens group in the city had complained that in case of fires, agencies point to other units mentioning jurisdiction issues. Multiple incidents of fires on hills have been reported in the city.
