Mumbai, Jun 25: As many as 3.5 lakh trees were felled illegally in forest areas in Maharashtra in the last five years, Forest Minister Ganesh Naik informed the state legislative assembly on Thursday.
The minister gave the information in a written reply to a query by Nilesh Rane (Shiv Sena) and others.
The trees chopped illegally included 1.24 lakh teak trees, the minister said, adding it amounted to a Rs 30 crore loss to the state exchequer.
In a written reply to another query by Sanjay Meshram (Congress) and others, the minister said seven persons were killed in attacks by wild animals, including tiger, leopard and elephant, in various parts of the state in April this year.
The attacks took place in Nagpur, Sangli, Gadchiroli, Amravati, Mumbai, Pune, Ahilyanagar, Nashik and Chandrapur districts, Naik said. (PTI)
