(a) whether the army is left with only about 40 operational Field Firing Ranges out
of 104 which the army used to have for carrying out field firing to improve combat skills
of the personnel;
(b) if so, the reasons for sharp decline in the number of such ranges; and
(c) the corrective steps taken by the Government in this regard?
MINISTER OF DEFENCE (SHRI A.K. ANTONY)
(a) The number of Field Firing Ranges (FFRs) has declined in the last decades from 104 to
66 (12 acquired and 44 notified ranges). 38 ranges have been deleted from the list of FFRs
in 2009 due to their not being available (due to de-notification) on account of being declared
as wild life sanctuaries or to their not being re-notified by the State Governments.
(b) Notified FFRs are required to be re-notified from time to time by respective State
Governments after clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has been
received. Due to increase in population, spread of habitation & development, encroachments,
areas being declared as wild life sanctuary/reserve forests, and environmental pressures,
the State Governments are often disinclined to renotify ranges in their jurisdiction.
(c) Concerted efforts are being made at all levels to ensure timely re-notification
of the de-notified ranges. One time Compensatory Afforestation (CA) charges as
required by the respective State Governments have been paid in case of many ranges
to ensure their long term re-notification and continued availability. In addition,
efforts are on by the Army to impress upon the respective State Governments and MoEF
the need for re-notification/acquisition of field firing ranges.