(a) whether the Government has taken steps to stop the cutting of forest trees in Madhya Pradesh;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the details of provisions made for environment conservation in Madhya Pradesh?
(a) whether the Government has taken steps to stop the cutting of forest trees in Madhya Pradesh;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the details of provisions made for environment conservation in Madhya Pradesh?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)
(a) & (b) Trees in forests managed by State Forest Departments are felled as per the Working Plans approved by the Ministry, and their records are maintained by the State Forest Departments. Protection and management of forests is primarily the responsibility of State Governments /Union Territory Administrations. There are strong legal frameworks for protection and management of tree resources which include National Forest Policy 1988, Indian Forest Act, 1927, Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and State Forest Acts/State specific Tree Preservation Acts and Rules, etc. The State Governments /UT Administrations take appropriate actions in accordance with the provisions made under these Acts/ Rules for regulating felling of trees.
As per the report received from the Government of Madhya Pradesh the following steps have been taken by the State Government to prevent illegal felling of trees:-
(a) The forest area of Madhya Pradesh are well demarcated with concrete/stone masonry pillars.
(b) Regular beat inspections are being carried out in accordance with the approved roster.
(c) 15228 Joint Forest Management Committees are actively involved in the protection of forests.
(d) 329 Forest Chowkies have been established
(e) Mobiles, wireless systems, binocular and Personal Digital Assistants are being used for communication to control forest offences.
(f) Every forest circle and important divisions have flying squads, equipped with arms and vehicles, for rapid action and control of forest offences.
(g) The state of Madhya Pradesh has three companies of special armed forces on deputation which have been deployed in very sensitive areas to assist in controlling encroachments and other forest crimes.
(h) Felling of trees is done in the forest area as part of silvicultural operations as per working plans approved by the Government of India with regeneration operations.
In order to increase the forest cover in the country, afforestation programmes have been taken up under various Centrally Sponsored Schemes such as National Afforestation Programme (NAP), Green India Mission (GIM), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP), which from 2015-16 has been amalgamated as the Watershed Development Component of the “Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY)” and under Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA). Local people are involved in afforestation activities by the State Forest Departments.
For felling of trees for development works under Forest Conservation Act 1980, Compensatory Afforestation is done on equal non-forest land and 1000 plants per hectare are planted by the State Governments. During 2006-2018. Compensatory afforestation has been carried out over 352806 hectare.
(c).Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India through Sub-section (3) of Section 3 of Environmental Protection Act, 1986 has constituted Madhya Pradesh State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), which regulates the development and their expansion through Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is also implementing the Environment Education, Awareness and Training (EEAT) scheme with the objective, inter alia, to promote environmental awareness and mobilize student’s participation for environment conservation. Under this Scheme, financial assistance is provided to State Nodal Agencies for supporting Eco-clubs in schools/ colleges, for organizing nature camps, etc. The scheme is implemented in Madhya Pradesh through the Environmental Planning & Coordination Organization (EPCO), Bhopal.
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