Himachal Pradesh Forest Department has no government vehicle to control forest fire, Forest Minister Govind Singh Thakur told the state assembly on Friday.
The minister gave this information in reply to a question by BJP MLA Jawahar Thakur and Congress MLA Ram Lal Thakur.
No government vehicle is available to control forest fires, tree felling or mining in any of the 198 forest ranges of the state, said the minister.
As per a remote sensing study conducted by the Forest Survey of India, Himachal's forest cover has increased by 2.67 percent (393 square kilometre) in two years from 2015 to 2017, he added.
The Forest Survey of India does forest mapping through remote sensing system in the country in every two years, he added.
There are 37 forests and six wildlife divisions in the state, he added.
Further a total of 198 forests ranges exist in the state and 39 of them are sensitive forests ranges, he added.