India, March 10 -- Forest fires have destroyed 22,293 hectares of forests in Odisha over the past three years, forest, environment and climate change minister Ganesh Ram Singhkhuntia on Tuesday told the state assembly.

8,462 hectares of forest area were lost in 2022, followed by 9,764 hectares in 2023, and 4,067 hectares so far in 2024, he said.

According to data from the Forest Survey of India (FSI), the state has recorded more than 7,200 forest fire incidents between January 1 and March 10, the highest in the country.

Neighbouring Andhra Pradesh reported 6,181 incidents, followed by Telangana (5,750), Maharashtra (5,151) and Karnataka (4,768) during the same period.

Forest fires have already begun spreading from Koraput to Sambalpur...