Telangana Forest department proposes weapons for frontline personnel

The Telangana Forest department has proposed arming frontline personnel with weapons and ammunition amid rising forest encroachments and attacks on staff. A Rs. 4,095-crore proposal is under consideration, while the government has also approved recruitment of 1,516 personnel

Hyderabad: With a large number of forest encroachment cases being registered, besides forest personnel losing their lives in the line of duty, the Forest department has proposed arming its frontline personnel with weapons and ammunition. A proposal worth Rs. 4,095 crore is under government consideration.

From 2014-15 to 2026-27 (up to July 2026), a staggering 1,06,685 cases involving timber valued at Rs. 55.99 crore were booked, Rs. 160.75 crore was collected as compounding fees, and 19,482 vehicles were seized.

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Further, 31,523 undetected Offence Report (UDOR) cases involving timber valued at Rs. 70.72 crore were registered, and 11,824 forest encroachment cases were booked in the last 10 years. During 2018-2026, 50 assault cases involving 60 Forest staff were reported and 58 personnel were injured, with two losing their lives.

Minister Jupally Krishna Rao, along with officials and staff, paid floral tributes at the memorial in Nehru Zoological Park on the occasion of National Forest Martyrs’ Day on Friday. He said the government intended to provide weapons to Forest personnel considering the risks involved in forest protection. Weapons were essential not only for curbing forest encroachments, illegal timber smuggling, wildlife poaching and other organised forest crimes, but also for ensuring the personal safety of the staff, he said.

A Rs. 30 lakh cheque was handed over to the family of Banoth Naveen, the West Beat Officer of Cheruvusingaram, who lost his life after coming into contact with live electric wires that had been set up for poaching wildlife.

According to the Minister, the government had granted permission to recruit a total of 1,516 personnel — comprising 1,393 Forest Beat Officers (FBOs), 15 Forest Range Officers (FROs), 18 Assistant Conservators of Forests (ACFs) and staff in other categories — to strengthen the Forest department.

Chief Secretary Sanjay Jaju, DGP CV Anand, PCCF (HoFF) Vinay Kumar, PCCF (Development) Ratnakar Johri, TGFDC VC and MD Sunita Bhagwat, Zoo Parks Director Dr Sunil S Hiremath and Zoo Curator J Vasantha, among others, also participated in the event.