Real-time alerts through satellite, AI and field reports to curb encroachment, deforestation
Mail News Service
Jamshedpur, May 5: Jharkhand’s forests, including the famous Dalma and Saranda regions, will now be watched over by an advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based system. Designed to send real-time alerts, the system will help detect illegal encroachment, tree felling and land-use changes with precision. As part of a pilot project, the Forest Department has taken a leaf out of Madhya Pradesh’s book, where this system—called the Real-Time Forest Alert System—has already borne fruit.
This AI-enabled system runs using satellite imagery, machine learning and direct feedback from the field. Officials say it reads changes as small as 10×10 metres and immediately sends alerts. It pulls satellite images via Google Earth Engine and processes them through the cloud. If a patch of forest is cleared, crops are planted, or a structure pops up—alerts reach the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) without delay.
“This system combines satellite tech, AI and field reports for the first time. It’ll boost monitoring and make quick action possible,” said Dalma DFO Saba Alam Ansari. “The beat guard will also send images from four directions at the site, improving accuracy. What you sow, you shall reap—so we are planting vigilance now for a greener tomorrow.”
Saranda, once dense with age-old trees, now presents a sorry sight with only thin trees and stumps of the past. Illegal logging and mining have gnawed away at Jharkhand’s green cover. Dalma too has suffered from unchecked encroachment.
But with this system in place, there is renewed hope that Jharkhand’s “green crown” can shine again. Already, AI is being used to monitor elephant movement on railway tracks. The department now plans to use it for tracking forest fires and eventually for overseeing the entire state’s forest cover.
As they say, better late than never.
