Bathinda, May 25 -- In a first-of-its-kind initiative in the state, the Punjab forest department has finalised a plan to map forest boundaries using high-resolution satellite data to ensure clearer demarcation of forest land and check encroachment disputes.

Officials said the exercise will help precisely identify and document forest boundaries in ecologically sensitive zones and forest patches spread along nearly 50,000 km of canals, roads and railway tracks across the state.

The exercise is expected to strengthen enforcement against encroachments and resolve long-pending disputes related to forest land, officials added.

Principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) Dharminder Sharma said the Ludhiana-based Punjab Remote Sensing Centre...