(a) the number and area of forest that have been covered by the water bodies of dams;
(b) the number and area of these dams;
(c) whether the Government has any idea regarding the ecosystem which has gone under the water and destroyed so far, if so, the details thereof; and
(d) the steps taken by the Government in this regard?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
(SHRI BABUL SUPRIYO)
(a)& (b) A total of 142 proposals involving 21831.24 ha of forest area have been approved under Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in the last five years (2015 to till date)for use in hydro electric projects and irrigation projects which includes dams and areas under submergence.
(c) & (d) As per Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and Rules and Guidelines made there under, whenever approval for use of forest land for non-forestry purposes is accorded Net Present Value (NPV) is levied to compensate the loss of ecosystem services, and Compensatory Afforestation (CA) over equivalent non-forest land or double degraded forest land is stipulated. In addition, for various projects including projects which involve areas under submergence of forest land, adequate safeguards and appropriate mitigation measures are also stipulated on case to case basis such as:
i. implementation of Catchment Area Treatment Plan,
ii. implementation of Soil & Moisture Conservation activities, etc.
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