(a)the details of Research Institutes functioning in the country where research work is going on in the field of forestry;
(b)the number of vacant positions in these said institutes and the steps being taken by the Government to fill the said posts;
(c)the steps taken by the Government to promote forest based products and industries; and
(d)the steps taken by the Government for welfare of forest panchayats along with the forest conservation programme under-taken by them?
MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
(SHRI PRAKASH JAVADEKAR)
(a) & (b) Forest Research Institutes functioning under the control of Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change in the country and the number of vacant positions in these institutes is given below:-
S.No. Name of the Institute Vacant positions
(i) Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun 421
(ii) Tropical Forest Research Institute (TFRI), Jabalpur 51
(iii) Arid Forest Research Institute (AFRI), Jodhpur 21
(iv) Institute of Wood Science & Technology (IWST), Bangalore 28
(v) Institute of Forest Genetics & Tree Breeding (IFGTB), Coimbatore 26
(vi) Rain Forest Research Institute (RFRI), Jorhat 46
(vii) Himalayan Forest Research Institute (HFRI), Shimla 14
(viii) Institute of Forest Productivity (IFP), Ranchi 35
(ix) Institute of Forest Biodiversity (IFB), Hyderabad 03
(x) Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal 37
(xi) Indian Plywood Industries Research & Training Institute (IPIRTI), Bangalore 12
These institutes have initiated process to fill the vacant posts within the available resources, which is at various stages of progress. The recruitment of scientific and technical posts are done as per the academic, research & administrative requirements in a phased manner.
Besides these forestry research institutions under the overall supervision of the Ministry, state government of Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, etc. also have their own research institutes, where research work is continuing in the field of forestry.
(c) The Government has taken various steps to promote the forest based products and industries. National Afforestation & Eco-development Board of the Ministry is providing funds to various State Forest Development Agencies for value addition & marketing of forest produce, use of improved technology and capacity building of Joint Forest Management Committees/Gram Panchayats besides rehabilitation of degraded forests. Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education, Dehradun and Indian Plywood Industries Research and Training Institute, Bangalore are providing research inputs for various wood & bamboo based industries and also for non-timber forest produce. Similarly, Indian Institute of Forest Management is continuing with various socio-economic assessment for development of forest product industries.
(d) Government is providing funds for livelihood and capacity building of various forest communities including Van (Forest) Panchayats besides making funds available for plantation of various forest species & ancillary activities undertaken by them.
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