A late-night fire on Tuesday near the Morni Hills forest area in Panchkula district triggered an investigation after preliminary findings suggested the blaze was man-made. The fire was reported around 9:30pm on land falling under Ramsar village adjoining the forest, and partially spread into the nearby jungle before being controlled around 12.15am through a joint operation by local villagers and the forest department’s firefighting team.
District forest officer (Morni-Pinjore forest division) Vishal Kaushik said that officials have analysed immediate video footage of the incident. “There is no clear boundary between the village habitation and the forest land in the area,” Kaushik said, adding the department has already identified two suspects who may be involved in triggering the blaze. This marks the third such fire incident reported in the division within the last fortnight.
Panchkula deputy commissioner Satpal Sharma visited the spot to review the situation and directed district development and panchayat officials to sensitise villagers against clearing land through fire.
Senior officials said farmers frequently burn dry grass and agricultural residue between harvesting and sowing cycles as a cheap clearing method, which can spiral out of control during the dry season. While the forest department is currently assessing the exact acreage affected and the nature of the losses, officials maintained that timely intervention prevented this from escalating into a forest fire.
Morni Hills, Haryana’s only hill station, is susceptible to blazes fuelled by soaring temperatures and strong winds.
The Punjab and Haryana high court had last year initiated suo motu contempt proceedings against the state’s forest secretary over protracted delays in officially declaring Morni Hills a “reserved forest” under the Indian Forest Act, an administrative lapse that critics argue complicates boundary enforcement and conservation.
