The Uttarakhand Government told the Supreme Court of India on Wednesday that only 0.1 percent of wildlife cover was lost during the forest fires, shutting down the claim that 40 percent of the state was on fire.

The matter regarding the forest fires was heard by the bench comprising of Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta. During the hearing, the state government told the top court that since November 2023, around 398 forest fires had been reported in Uttarakhand.

However, almost all of these fires were man-made. The counsel appearing for the state said that around 350 criminal cases have been lodged in connection with forest fires and 62 people have been named responsible.

In response to the forest fires, the Supreme Court stated that the state cannot be dependent on "cloud seeding or the rain god" to put out forest fires.

While setting the date for the next hearing on May 15, the Supreme Court directed the state to take better preventive measures.

The court has further instructed the Uttarakhand Government and petitioners to submit their reports to the Central Empowered Committee for assessment and opinion.

5 Killed In Uttarakhand Forest Fires

As the fires continue to rage, the state government has resorted to aerial firefighting. The National Disaster Response Force has also been deployed in the districts of Pauri and Almora, which were the worst affected.

The state government also sought help from the Indian Air Force to extinguish the fires by using lake from the Bhimtal Lake from April 27 onwards.

Since the fires started in end-April, the state has also reported the death of five people. The latest death was of 65-year-old woman Savitri Devi.