MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
(SHRI BABUL SUPRIYO)
(a)& (b) The compensatory afforestation scheme is an essential condition, which is stipulated in the proposals approved “in-principle” under Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. Compensatory Afforestation (CA) is done as per the approved Annual Plan of Operations (APOs) of the States/UTs. The provisions of Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Act, 2016 have come into force w.e.f. 30.09.2018. Consistent efforts have yielded good results in addressing the problem of deforestation, besides keeping the pace of development, which is evident from the fact that the forest cover has stabilized and has been constantly increasing over the years. As per the recent biennial edition of India State of Forest Report (ISFR-2019) of Forest Survey of India (FSI), the total forest and tree cover in the country is 8,07,276 square kilometres (sq km) (forest cover 7,12,249 sq km, tree cover 95,027 sq km), which is 24.56% of the geographical area of the country. There is an increase of 13,209 sq km of total forest and tree cover compared to that of ISFR-2015.
The Government Policy is to ensure that more number of trees are planted compared to number of trees removed under different developmental proposals approved under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. In the last decade 38,22,22,786 number of trees were removed and plantation of more than 801,62,26,022 trees has been stipulated under compensatory afforestation including Uttar Pradesh. The details are annexed at Annexure-I.
(c) to (e) The Ministry is implementing various schemes for conservation and development of forest areas, such as National Afforestation Programme (NAP) and Green India Mission (GIM). Afforestation and conservation activities are also undertaken under various other programmes/schemes such as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), National Adaption Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC), Climate Change Action Programme, Forest Fire Prevention and Management, Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats etc.
National Mission for Green India Mission (GIM) is one of the eight Missions outlined under the National Action Plan on Climate Change. It aims at protecting, restoring and enhancing India’s forest cover and responding to Climate Change by means of plantation activities in forest and non-forest areas. GIM activities were started in the FY 2015-16 and so far an amount of Rs. 343.08 Crores has been released to thirteen states namely Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and West Bengal for carrying out the GIM activities in 126916.32 ha.
National Afforestation & Eco-Development Board(NAEB) is implementing National Afforestation Programme (NAP) for ecological restoration of degraded forest areas. The scheme is implemented through 3 tiers institutional setup of State Forest Development Agency (SFDA) at State Level, Forest Development agency (FDA) at Forest Division Level and Joint Forest Management Committees(JFMCs) at village level. Under NAP an area of 6,08,471 hectares for new afforestation has been approved to the States including Uttar Pradesh during the last ten years (2009-10 to 2018-19). The State-wise/year-wise details of approved area under NAP Scheme during ten years are annexed at Annexure-II.
NAEB, MoEF&CC fixes plantation/ afforestation targets under 20-Point Programme annually in the country to be carried out by all States/UTs. The details of area covered under plantation (public and forest land) during the last ten years (2009-10 to 2018-19) are annexed at Annexure-III.
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