Permission has been granted to fell sal trees affected by the sal borer insect in the Amarkantak region of Dindori and Anuppur districts in Madhya Pradesh.
Surendra Jatav, sub-divisional officer of the Dindori Forest Department, told Down To Earth that the central government had granted permission to fell 146,784 trees in Dindori district.
The approval was granted a day ago, he said, adding that felling of the affected trees would begin soon.
In the Amarkantak area of Anuppur district, 9,535 sal trees will be cut. David Chenap, Divisional Forest Officer of Anuppur, said permission had been granted and felling would begin in October.
A workshop was held on September 17, 2026 to outline the future course of action.
Down To Earth had reported two months ago that the Forest Department had sought permission to cut about 1.5 lakh trees in Dindori district, which has been among the areas worst affected by the sal borer.
To prevent the spread of the insect, the department has also been using the trap tree method and buying sal borer insects from local people at Rs 2 per insect.
According to Jatav, 19,25,118 insects have been purchased in the Dindori Forest Division. This means the department has spent about Rs 38.5 lakh on buying the insects.
Villagers and tribal residents living near the forests have collected the insects and delivered them to Forest Department collection centres, often stringing the heads of sal borer insects into garlands.
When DTE visited sal borer-affected areas in December 2025, the infestation appeared to be taking the form of an epidemic. Large quantities of sawdust had accumulated beneath trees, indicating severe damage.
In the Karanjia Range, the worst-affected area, teams were marking sal borer-hit trees for felling.
People involved in the work told Down To Earth that the situation was serious, with millions of trees affected by the pest.
The largest number of sal trees is expected to be cut in this area. Nearly 90 per cent of the trees affected by sal borer in Dindori are in the Karanjia Range.
