VIJAYAWADA: Deputy Chief Minister and Minister Forest and Environment Pawan Kalyan has directed officials to introduce an advanced technology-based administrative system on the lines of Karnataka to protect every inch of forest land in the State.
During a review meeting on Thursday, Pawan Kalyan ordered officials to prepare an action plan to establish an Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) at the newly developed Aranyaramam. The system will enable digital monitoring of forest mapping, wildlife movements and various forest activities.
A State Forest department team, led by IT advisor Pennamreddy Nagababu, recently visited Karnataka for three days to study its IT systems, GIS technology, mobile applications and ICCC. The team submitted a detailed report to Pawan Kalyan, who directed senior officials to adopt successful practices followed by Karnataka state forest department.
The proposed ICCC will facilitate centralised monitoring of forests through a geo-spatial dashboard, drone surveillance and camera traps to analyse wildlife populations. It will also track vehicles travelling through forest routes, monitor patrolling, forest fires and human-wildlife conflicts.
Pawan Kalyan suggested introducing an e-Gastu mobile application to improve accountability among field staff. The app would monitor patrolling, attendance, route guidance, safety measures and submission of reports. He also proposed integrating it with the existing Forest Portal and Single Sign-On systems.