Jaipur, Oct. 3 -- Rajasthan has witnessed a steady decline in reported crime over the past two years, as per internal data recorded by the state police department, police officers said on Thursday. The development follows the recent release of the National Crime Record Bureau's (NCRB) report on overall crime, which showed the state recorded the highest number of rape cases in the country in 2023. "While the NCRB data is available only till 2023, Rajasthan Police's effective measures have led to a continued fall in crimes through 2024 and 2025. The steady decline reflects our commitment to crime control and fair complaint redressal," said Dinesh MN, additional director general of police (ADGP), crime, Rajasthan. According to the police, the data recorded a 19.45% decline in overall rates of reported crime, with a comparison of the 2023 and 2024 figures revealing a 9.24% decrease in cases registered on crimes against women- which fell from 45,450 to 36,563. Cases registered on alleged offences against Scheduled Tribes fell from 8,449 to 7,008, while those registered on offences against Scheduled Cates fell from 2,453 to 2,282 in a year's duration, police added. According to the NCRB report on 2023, Rajasthan recorded a total of 5,078 rape cases, the highest in the country. However, the figure also represented the figure was the lowest recorded in the western state since 2019. Meanwhile, the NCRB report also showed that the state was among the top five to report the most environment-related offences in the country in 2023, with a total of 7,794 cases, placing it only behind Tamil Nadu (41,304), Kerala (8,786) and Maharashtra (4,854). A closer look reveals that Rajasthan reported 232 cases under the Forest and Forest Conservation Act, 181 cases under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1,535 cases under the Air and Water Pollution Acts. Moreover, the state recorded a striking 5,846 cases under the Noise Pollution Acts in 2023. However, the state recorded zero cases under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010. Experts note that Rajasthan's high noise pollution figures reflect the state's urban expansion, heavy vehicular movement, and frequent religious/social gatherings where sound regulations are often flouted.Overall, India registered 68,994 cases of environmental offences in 2023, of which Rajasthan's share was significant at over 11%. Rajasthan recorded 7,794 environment-related offences in 2023, a slight decline from 9,529 cases in 2022, according to official data. With a charge-sheeting rate of 99.7% in 2023, the state shows strong enforcement action, even as it struggles to contain environmental offences in urban and industrial areas....