HYDERABAD: FOR a while now, the Telangana Forest Department has been struggling with cases of poaching and teakwood smuggling. In order to combat these issues, the department is now looking towards drones that can scan forests. It is expected that the drones would identify and locate smugglers and hunters, who often taken opt for routes that are hard to trace.
A while back, the forest department got in touch with the Information Technology, Electronics and Communications (ITE&C) department to discuss the various issues it was facing. Apart from detecting smugglers and poachers, the department was looking for options that would help them with better implementation of the Haritha Haram plantation drive.
“As of now, officials manually disburse seedballs into the forest. With the help of drones, the seeds could be sprayed down to the location, superseding the need for manual labour,” an official said.
The forest officials also want drones to identify various kinds of plant species through hyperspectral imaging sensor.
However, this does not seem very likely to come to fruition, because as per sources, drone startups do not use that particular sensor.
Meanwhile, it is also learnt that there have been incidents where poachers lay metal traps to capture animals. Officials are also hoping that drones will detect such traps. Lastly, they also wanted the technology to help measure trees.
Based on these requirements, a meeting was recently held between the forest department officials, ITE&C, and various drone startups at the T-Hub.
Based on the presentations made during the meeting, officials are now formulating a pilot project to address the mentioned issues.
DGCA guidelines a roadblock?
However, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA) guidelines regarding drones or unmanned aerial vehicles may prove to be tricky for the State government. For instance, the DGCA guidelines do not allow unmanned aerial vehicles to “discharge or drop substances” unless cleared by the authority.
“We will be taking permission for the same,” a senior official said. The other guideline which may pose as a hindrance is the Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLoS), which entails that drone pilots must maintain a direct visual line of sight at all times while flying — unless permission is taken separately.
Speaking on the matter, Principal Secretary of ITEC Jayesh Ranjan said: "I don't see any opposition coming from the DGCA regarding this proposal. In fact, they have been very encouraging about the project. The DGCA is also going to come up with a revised set of guidelines." He added that this project was a very good example of how technology could be used imaginatively. "We are using technology to provide solutions to what was considered to be a complicated and tiresome aspect of governance," he said.