THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI GHULAM NABI AZAD)
(a)to (f): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 62 FOR 25th NOVEMBER, 2011
(a) & (b) No firm data on the extent of threat to the medicinal plants is readily
available. According to the Botanical Survey of India 155 species of vascular plants out of a
total of 19064 species are prone to extinction due to various anthropogenic activities. These
include 69 species of medicinal and aromatic plants, which are reported as threatened
(including endangered), viz. Aconitum balfouri, A. chasmanthum, A. deinorrhizum, A. falconeri
var latilobum, A. ferox, A. heterophyllum, Acorus gramineus, Allium strachcyi, Amyris
balsamifera, Angelica glanca, Anogeissiis sericea var. numularia, Aquiliarla malloccensis,
Aquilaria khasiana, Aristolochia bracteolata, A. Mica, Arnebia benthamii, Atropa acwninata,
Berberis affinis, B. apiculata, B, aristata, Bergenia stracheyi, Boronia megastigma, Cappatis
pachyphyila, Carum villosum, Cedrus deodara, Colchicum luteum, Coptis teeta, Coscinium
fenestratum, Dactylorhiza hatagirea, Dioscorea dehoidea, Elaeocarpus prunifolius, Ephedra
gerardiana, Ferrula gummosa, Gaultheria fragrantissima, Gentiana kurooa, Ghriosa superba,
Hedychium coronarium, Hedychium spicatum, Hyoscyamus niger, Hydnocarpus rnacrocarpa, Inula
racemosa, Iphigenia indica, 1. pallida, I. stellata, Jurinea dolomiaea, Kolanchoe rosens,
Madhuca insignia, Myristica fragrans, Myroxylon balsamum var. pereirae, Nardostachys
grandiflora, Origanum vulgare, Panax pseudoginseng, Picrorhiza kurrooa, Podophyllum hexandrum,
Pogostemon cablin, Fterocarpus santalinus, Rauvolfia serpenlina, Rheum emodi, Santalum album,
Satureja horensis, Saussurea bracteata, S. costus, S. gnaphalodes, Swertia chirayita, Taxus
wallichiana, Taxocarpus kurzii, Urginea indica, Urginea mantima and Vitex peduncularis.
Under section 38 of Biological Diversity Act 2002, the Ministry of Environment & Forests,
in consultation with concerned State Government notify any species, which is on the verge of
extinction or likely to become extinct in near future as a threatened species and prohibit or
regulate collection thereof for any purpose and take appropriate steps to rehabilitate and
preserve those species. Under the said provision of the Act, the Ministry of Environment &
Forests has notified the plants which are on the verge of extinction in the State of Bihar,
Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Orissa, Tamil
Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal. These plants also include medicinal
and aromatic plants.
(c) to (f): Yes, Madam. The National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) of Department of AYUSH
is implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of `National Mission on Medicinal Plants` since
2008-09. The scheme aims at supporting market driven cultivation of prioritized medicinal
plants and is being implemented in a mission mode for cultivation of identified medicinal
plants in cluster mode, through Growers, Farmers, Cultivators, Growers Associations,
Federations, Self Help Groups, Corporates and Growers Co-operatives with backward and forward
linkages. The selection and pricritization of plant species for financial assistance under the
scheme is based on demand in the domestic and international markets, their availability in the
wild and their conservation status (critically endangered, threatened, vulnerable etc).
Financial assistance is provided to States for getting the scheme implemented for cultivation,
nursery, post harvest management of medicinal plants etc. The subsidy is provided to the
cultivators through State Mission Directors, The rates of subsidy are 75%, 50% and 20% of the
cost of cultivation of medicinal plants, depending upon their threat status, gestation period
and need for support etc. The overall weighted average of subsidy is kept within 30% for a
particular State while approving their annual Action Plan. Financial assistance amounting to
Rs. 29.3516 crores in 2008-09, Rs. 69.2508 crores in 2009-10, Rs. 47.7663 crores in 2010-11 and
Rs. 24.3462 crores during the current year was released to State Mission Directors for
implementing the Scheme, State/UT-wise and year-wise details of funds released for various
activities under the scheme including cultivation are available in Annexure.
