In a bid to counter the illegal felling of timber in the Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh, the district administration has made GPS mandatory for trucks transporting logs.

The administration further instructed that the trucks will be allowed to ply only during the daytime.

The India State of Forest Report 2021, released recently stated that the state has lost about 257sqkm of its forest cover. The 2021 assessment put the forest cover at 66,430.67sqkm against 66,687.78sqkm in 2019.

The use of GPS to track the exact location of an individual is on the rise in the northeast.

Changlang DC Devansh Yadav further informed the media that using GPS to track the locations of trucks began in early January 2022 and the administration has also received cooperation from truck owners.

Yadav further informed the media that work on preparing the database for fitting GPS in trucks began in October 2021. Around 50 trucks have been fitted with GPS to date.

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Changlang district has 100 timber-carrying trucks and each GPS installation by a Delhi-based company is costing about Rs 3,000.

Speaking to the media a forest official informed that GPS installation would also help the truck owners keep a tab on the movement and timing of their vehicles.

The official further informed that every district of Arunachal Pradesh would soon fit GPS in the trucks used in the transportation of logs.