The different programmes / activities undertaken by Forest Department during last 5years for protection of forest from illicit felling/ smuggling by forest mafias which are as follows:
- The forest management units in the field comprise of 51 Divisions (37 Territorial Divisions + 14 Wildlife Divisions), 300 Ranges (223 Territorial Ranges + 77 Wildlife Ranges), 1068 Sections (827 Territorial Sections + 241 Wildlife Sections) and 3781 Beats (3082 Territorial Beats + 699 Wildlife Beats).
- Each Division, Range, Section and Beat is manned by the Divisional Forest Officer, Forest Ranger, Forester and Forest Guard respectively.
- In total, 122 intra-state Forest Check Gates are functioning under 27 Forest Divisions for checking of vehicles and prevention of smuggling of forest produce on transit.
- In total, 227 Forest Protection Squads under CAMPA Scheme, having 10 local youths in each squad with 227 numbers of vehicles, have been deployed at range level of 37 Territorial Divisions.
- 261 Fire Protection Squads have been constituted under CAMPA involving 2610 numbers of local youths (each squad of 10 persons) and @1 hired vehicle for each squad in all the divisions of the state for forest fire prevention and control activities of the State during 2024–25.
- During the year 2025–26, under CSS i.e. FPM scheme and FCDR (Forest Conservation Development and Regeneration) scheme, 3461 km of Fire Lines have been created/maintained in the shape of maintenance of compartment line, forest boundary lines and other fire lines for prevention of forest fire in different forest divisions of the state.
- During the year 2025–26, under CAMPA scheme: Forest Fire Prevention and Management, 17,000 km of Forest Fire Lines have been created/maintained in the shape of compartment line, forest boundary lines and other fire lines for prevention of forest fire in different forest divisions of the state.
- Up to now, 16,217 numbers of Vana Surakshya Samities have been formed in the State, wherein 20,11,787 numbers of families of 15,355 villages are involved and they have been assigned with 13,97,577.24 hectares of forest area for its protection and usufruct benefit.
- 590 numbers of Eco-Development Committees have been formed in the proximity of protected areas to protect forest & wildlife with active involvement of the local community.
- 590 numbers of VHF stations and 880 numbers of walkie-talkies are in operation in the State for strengthening communication network to be used for monitoring protection activities.
- The details of forest offence cases detected & booked, with timber and vehicles seized in different forest divisions during the last 5 years, are furnished below:
| Year | Offence Cases Detected (In Nos.) | Offenders Involved (In Nos.) | Timber Seized Quantity (In Cum.) | Vehicles Seized (In Nos.) |
| 2020-21 | 55412 | 50740 | 6185 | 558 |
| 2021-22 | 41598 | 35286 | 7586 | 248 |
| 2022-23 | 41144 | 37542 | 1756 | 663 |
| 2023-24 | 23922 | 15450 | 5537 | 716 |
| 2024-25 (upto31.10.25) | 26978 | 24223 | 3291 | 520 |
Rewards to Informers and Forest Officials
Rewards are being given to informers, staff, public, etc. as per “Reward for Detection of Forest Offence Rules, 2004” to encourage them to cooperate in forest protection activities. During 2024–25, an amount of Rs. 32,17,651/- has been deposited in the bank accounts by different Divisional Forest Officers towards reward amount to the informers.
In addition to this, for protection of Berbera and Dhuanali forests from the claws of forest mafia, 25 numbers of Forest Guards and 04 numbers of Foresters have been recruited, especially to assist the Odisha Special Striking Force in the State.