Telangana Records 591 Environment Offences in 2024
The chargesheeting rate stood at 85 per cent, while the pendency rate was 8.9 per cent.
Hyderabad:Telangana registered 591 environment‑related offences in 2024, compared to 358 cases in 2023 and 641 in 2022, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
The offences were booked under various laws, including the Forest Act, Forest Conservation Act, Wildlife Protection Act, Air and Water Prevention and Control Act, National Green Tribunal Act and other environment and pollution‑related statutes.
Of the 591 cases in 2024, 27 were under the Environment Protection Act, 1986, while 564 were under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003.
Nationwide, 57,670 offences were recorded across all states and Union territories, showing a slight decrease from 2023.
In Telangana, 278 cases were pending from the previous year, and 591 were reported in 2024, taking the total under investigation to 869. Police said 119 cases were closed due to insufficient evidence or being untraced. Charge sheets were filed in 673 cases, including 119 pending from 2023 and 474 fresh cases in 2024.
A total of 792 cases were disposed of by police, with 77 pending at year‑end. The chargesheeting rate stood at 85 per cent, while the pendency rate was 8.9 per cent.
Court data showed 599 cases pending trial from the previous year and 673 sent for trial in 2024, taking the total to 1,272. Of these, 393 ended in conviction, 13 were compounded, 17 quashed and 30 disposed of without trial. At year‑end, 782 cases remained pending. The conviction rate stood at 85.2 per cent, while pendency was 61.5 per cent.
Police arrested 506 men for environment‑related offences, with 704 men chargesheeted. Of those convicted, 470 were men and 15 women, while 72 men were acquitted.