(a) whether the Government has designed a permanent solution for safety of wild animals where railway tracks pass through reserved forests;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the total number of reserve forests across the county including Assam?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
(SHRI BABUL SUPRIYO)
(a)and (b)The Ministry has already initiated preventive measures to address the issues relating to safety of wild animals from various infrastructural development including railway tracks passing through forests. Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in consultation with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, National Tiger Conservation Authority, National Highway Authority and World Bank has published a document namely ‘Eco-friendly Measures to Mitigate Impacts of Linear Infrastructure’ which included procedural guidance for erecting fences and walls to exclude wild animals, constructing structures such as overpasses and underpasses to allow animals to cross a road or railway corridors safely, and erecting signage and warning systems to reduce death of wild animals due to transportation infrastructure. The Standing Committee of NBWL in its 47th Meeting held on 25th January, 2018 recommended that in future user agencies involved in linear infrastructure development should take into consideration the advisory made in the guidelines of the Wildlife Institute of India while designing the linear infrastructures inside the Protected Areas, notified Eco Sensitive Zone area around PAs.
Further a Permanent Coordination Committee has been constituted between Ministry of Railway (Railway Board) and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for preventing elephant death in train accident. Also a project namely ‘Application for Advanced Intelligent Seismic Technology for Mitigation Threats to Wild Elephant Population from Railway Tracks’ was sanctioned to Uttarakhand Forest Department and Wildlife Institute of India for mitigation of elephant deaths due to train hits.
(c) Reserve Forests are declared by the respective State Governments under the provisions of Indian Forest Act 1927 and State Forest Act. Total number of Reserve Forests in the country is not collated in the Ministry. However, as per the information received from the State Government of Assam, the total number of Reserve Forest in Assam is 312.
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