Taking serious cognisance of forest fires breaking out all over Maharashtra, the state government has released Rs 45.83 lakh as compared to the previous meagre grants of Rs 8.86 lakh under the "Fire and Forest Protection" head to the Pune forest circle. Conservator of Forests (Pune) Prakash Thosre told TNN that the grant allotted to the office on January 31, 2003, was the biggest of its kind. "The state government, central government and the ministry of environment and forests (MOEF) are aware of the spate of forest fires occurring all over the country. Queries regarding the frequent outbreak of forest fires are continuously being raised in Parliament," Thosre said. The increased allocation is not surprising as the supreme court and the MOEF have repeatedly directed all the state governments to intensify their forest-protection and fire-combating measures. The forest pockets in Pune region, which are susceptible to devastating fires, are Shirota, Wadgaon, Katraj, Nasrapur, Bhor and Junnar. From 1998 to 2002, the total area of forest land in Pune and Solapur region which witnessed devastating fires is approximately 7,929 hectare (see box). Most forest fires break out between February and June. Almost all the fires are intentional and man-made. Repeated fires result in the extinction of certain species of plants and animals. "A forest is an open treasure which cannot be kept under lock-and-key. Although we have the Indian Forest Act 1927 to punish the violators with one year of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2,000, sometimes it becomes difficult to trace culprits in the huge forest areas," Thosre said. City-based nature expert and Institute of Environment Education and Research director, Erach Bharucha, said the forest department should focus more on community participation programmes. "They should also introduce soil management, water management and grassland management programmes," he said.