Lok Sabha Question No. 1240 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-12-22
Subject: Fire Prone Forest Areas
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: M. I. SHANAVAS

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1240

TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.12.2017

## Fire Prone Forest Areas

## 1240.  SHRI M.I. SHANAVAS:

Will  the  Minister  of  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND  CLIMATE  CHANGE  be pleased  to state:

- (a) the number of cases of forest fires reported in the country during the last three years and the current year, State/UT-wise including Kerala;
- (b) whether the Government is aware of a report by the Forest Survey of India that about fifty per cent of forest areas in the country are fire prone;
- (c) if so, the details and the findings thereof along with the action taken thereon; and
- (d) whether the Government proposes to put in place any mechanism for quick response system for  fighting  forest  fires  and  to  incorporate  new  technology  and  involving  the  local community in fire fighting and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (DR. MAHESH SHARMA)

- (a) The  details  of  State/Union  Territory    wise  number  of  forest  fire  alerts  including Kerala reported by Forest Survey of India, Dehradun, a subordinate organization of this Ministry, during the last three years and current year  are given in Annexure-I.
- (b) & (c) According to the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2015, published by the Forest Survey  of  India,  Dehradun,  the  estimated  fire  prone  area  under  heavy,  moderate and mild fire are 2.40 percent, 7.49 percent and 54.40 percent respectively, making the total forest fire prone area as 64.29 percent of the Recorded Forest Area (RFA).

The details of Forest Type group-wise percentage of Recorded Forest Area under different fire incidences as published in India State of Forest Report (ISFR), 2015 are given in Annexure-II.

It  is  stated  that,  tropical  Thorn  Forests,  Tropical  Dry  Deciduous  Forests  and Subtropical Broadleaved Hill Forests are more prone to forest fire. Protection and management of  forests  from  various  threats  including  forest  fire  is  primarily  the responsibility  of  respective  State/Union  Territory  Governments.  The  Ministry issues advisories to State/UT Governments for taking effective steps for prevention and management of forest fires. The Forest Survey of India, Dehradun disseminates satellite based forest fire alerts on a near- real time basis to all the State / UT Forest Departments  and  other  registered  users  in  an  effort  to  assist  them  to  control  the forest fire in the initial stage itself at the earliest. The Ministry under the erstwhile Centrally  Sponsored  'Intensification  of  Forest  Management  Scheme'  provided financial assistance to State / UT Forest Departments for various forest protection measures  such  as  protection  from  forest  fire,  encroachment,  illegal  felling  etc. Recently, the Intensification of Forest Management Scheme has been revised and replaced as Centrally Sponsored 'Forest Fire Prevention & Management Scheme' to mainly focus on forest fire.

- (d) The Ministry has prepared Crisis Management Plan (CMP) to deal with forest fire effectively  with  less  response  time  in  coordination  with  stakeholders.  Similarly, the State / UT Forest Departments have also prepared CMPs for their respective forest areas to effectively address forest fire issues effectively.  The CMPs of this Ministry and the State / UT Forest Departments are periodically updated in order to enhance its effectiveness and further minimizing the response time. Further, as mentioned  above,  the  Forest  Survey  of  India,  Dehradun,  disseminates  satellite based  forest  fire  alerts  on  a  near-real  time  basis  to  all  the  State  /  UT  Forest Departments and other registered users in an effort to assist them to control the forest  fire  in  the  initial  stage  itself.  The  State  /  UT  Forest  Departments  involve local  communities,  Joint  Forest  Management  Committees  (JFMCs)  and  EcoDevelopment Committees (EDCs) etc. in various forest protection and conservation measures including prevention and control of forest fire.

*******

## ANNEXURE-I

## ANNEXURE  REFFERED  TO  IN  REPLY  OF  PART  (a)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1240 DUE FOR 22.12.2017 REGARDING FIRE PRONE FOREST AREAS ASKED BY SHRI M.I. SHANAVAS

| S. No.   | States/UTs               | 2014   | 2015   | 2016   | 2017   |
|----------|--------------------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|
| 1        | Andaman &Nicobar Islands | 96     | 1      | 24     | 8      |
| 2        | Andhra Pradesh           | 2,458  | 1,075  | 1,699  | 1877   |
| 3        | Arunachal Pradesh        | 535    | 358    | 293    | 733    |
| 4        | Assam                    | 2,536  | 1,656  | 1,766  | 1877   |
| 5        | Bihar                    | 140    | 45     | 321    | 272    |
| 6        | Chandigarh               | -      | -      | -      | 1      |
| 7        | Chhattisgarh             | 1,018  | 1,272  | 2,808  | 4373   |
| 8        | Dadra &Nagar Haveli      | 1      | -      | -      | 0      |
| 9        | Daman &Diu               | -      | -      | -      | 0      |
| 10       | Delhi                    | -      | -      | 2      | 5      |
| 11       | Goa                      | 3      | -      | 10     | 32     |
| 12       | Gujarat                  | 74     | 117    | 262    | 574    |
| 13       | Haryana                  | 5      | 6      | 43     | 185    |
| 14       | Himachal Pradesh         | 32     | 22     | 199    | 170    |
| 15       | Jammu &Kashmir           | 74     | 13     | 217    | 113    |
| 16       | Jharkhand                | 202    | 457    | 740    | 1133   |
| 17       | Karnataka                | 424    | 295    | 831    | 1333   |
| 18       | Kerala                   | 114    | 91     | 165    | 456    |
| 19       | Lakshadweep              | -      | -      | -      | 0      |
| 20       | Madhya Pradesh           | 534    | 294    | 2,675  | 4781   |
| 21       | Maharashtra              | 702    | 721    | 1,874  | 3487   |
| 22       | Manipur                  | 1,774  | 1,286  | 1,105  | 1094   |
| 23       | Meghalaya                | 1,123  | 1,373  | 966    | 1454   |
| 24       | Mizoram                  | 2,189  | 2,468  | 1,318  | 1587   |
| 25       | Nagaland                 | 886    | 722    | 678    | 930    |
| 26       | Odisha                   | 1,904  | 1,467  | 2,763  | 4416   |
| 27       | Puducherry               | -      | -      | -      | 9      |
| 28       | Punjab                   | 20     | 7      | 45     | 320    |
| 29       | Rajasthan                | 53     | 90     | 66     | 260    |
| 30       | Sikkim                   | -      | 3      | -      | 8      |
| 31       | Tamil Nadu               | 284    | 95     | 113    | 301    |
| 32       | Telangana *              | -      | 1,052  | 1,154  | 1748   |
| 33       | Tripura                  | 1,160  | 476    | 346    | 431    |
| 34       | Uttar Pradesh            | 218    | 130    | 691    | 1170   |
| 35       | Uttarakhand              | 379    | 207    | 1,501  | 376    |
| 36       | West Bengal              | 116    | 138    | 142    | 364    |
|          | Grand Total              | 19,054 | 15,937 | 24,817 | 35,888 |

## ANNEXURE-II

ANNEXURE  REFFERED  TO  IN  REPLY  OF  PART  (C)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1240 DUE FOR 22.12.2017 REGARDING FIRE PRONE FOREST AREAS ASKED BY SHRI M.I. SHANAVAS

| S. No.         |                                      | Fire Incidence Class   | Fire Incidence Class   | Fire Incidence Class   | Fire Incidence Class   |
|----------------|--------------------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|
|                | Forest Type Group                    | Heavy                  | Moderate               | Mild                   | No fire                |
| 1              | Tropical Wet Evergreen Forests       | 1.10                   | 3.12                   | 24.96                  | 70.82                  |
| 2              | Tropical Semi-Evergreen Forests      | 0.74                   | 3.22                   | 63.87                  | 32.17                  |
| 3              | Tropical Moist deciduous Forests     | 0.77                   | 5.81                   | 59.70                  | 33.72                  |
| 4              | Littoral and Swamp Forests           | 0.00                   | 6.25                   | 17.50                  | 76.25                  |
| 5              | Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests       | 3.95                   | 8.51                   | 53.94                  | 33.60                  |
| 6              | Tropical Thorn Forests               | 6.36                   | 13.94                  | 56.97                  | 22.73                  |
| 7              | Tropical Dry Evergreen Forests       | 11.11                  | 27.78                  | 38.89                  | 22.22                  |
| 8              | Subtropical Broadleaved Hill Forests | 0.00                   | 5.80                   | 83.33                  | 10.87                  |
| 9              | Subtropical Pine Forests             | 4.49                   | 24.08                  | 44.90                  | 26.53                  |
| 10             | Montane Wet Temperate Forests        | 0.00                   | 4.77                   | 52.37                  | 42.86                  |
| 11             | Himalayan Moist Temperate Forests    | 1.18                   | 12.60                  | 41.51                  | 44.71                  |
| 12             | Himalayan Dry Temperate Forests      | 0.00                   | 6.25                   | 31.24                  | 62.51                  |
| 13             | Sub-Alpine Forests                   | 0.00                   | 2.18                   | 14.13                  | 83.69                  |
| 14             | Moist Alpine Scrubs                  | 0.00                   | 0.00                   | 12.91                  | 87.09                  |
| National Level | National Level                       | 2.40                   | 7.49                   | 54.40                  | 35.71                  |