(a) whether the Government is aware of rise in incidents of encroachment in the forest areas;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) the number of complaints relating to the said encroachment received by the Union Government across the country, State-wise;
(d) the details of action taken by the Government thereon; and
(e) whether the Government has fixed accountability in this regard, if so, the details in this regard?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
(SHRI BABUL SUPRIYO)
(a) & (b)The responsibility of protection of forests from various threats including encroachment primarily lies with the respective Stateor Union Territory (UT).The respective State Governments and UT Administrations take action against those who found guilty in this regard, as per the extant acts, rules and regulations made thereunder. As per the information received from the States and UTs, approximately 14.64 lakh hectare of forest land is under encroachment.
(c) to (e) Since States and UTs are responsible for forest protection, whenever any complaint regarding encroachment is received, the same is forwarded to the concerned State or UT for taking appropriate actions as per the extant acts, rules and regulations. The States and UTs also take various measures such as demarcation and digitization of forest boundaries, strengthening infrastructure for forest protection, involving fringe area forest communities such as Joint Forest Management Committees, Eco Development Committees etc. to prevent and control encroachments.
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