Lok Sabha Question No. 3643 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-08-08
Subject: Prevention of Forest Fire
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: ANTO  ANTONY

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 3643

TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.08.2017

## Prevention of Forest Fire

## 3643.  SHRI ANTO ANTONY:

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

- (a) whether the Government has any data regarding the number of forest fires that occurred in the country during each of the last three years and if so, the details thereof, forest-wise;
- (b) whether it is a fact that according to a Forest Survey of India report, around 50 per cent of forest areas in the country are vulnerable to fire;
- (c) if so, the details thereof including the major findings of the said report;
- (d) whether the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Environment and Forests has expressed concerns over the laxity on the part of the Government in addressing the issue of forestfires; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof and the response of the Government thereto?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR  ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## (DR. HARSH VARDHAN)

- (a) The details of forest-wise number of forest fires are not maintained in the Ministry. However, State/UT wise number of forest fire alerts reported by Forest Survey of India, Dehradun during the last three years are given in Annexure-I.
- (b) 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 of Recorded Forest Areas (RFAs) respectively, thus making the total forest fire prone area as 64.29 percent of the Recorded Forest Area (RFA). These estimates are based on the field data from National Forest Inventory (NFI), wherein damages due to forest fire are observed occularly in a circular area of two hectare around the plot center and classified as 'Heavy' if more than 50 percent of the area/crop is affected by fire; 'Moderate' if 10-50 percent of the area is affected by fire; 'Mild' if the area affected is less than 10 percent.
- (c) are given in Annexure-II.
- 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 As  per  this  information,  Tropical  Thorn  Forests,  Tropical  Dry  Deciduous  Forests and Subtropical Broadleaved Hill Forests are more prone to forest fire.
- (d) & (e)  The Department related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology,  Environment  and  Forests  in  293 rd Report  recommended  various measures for effective prevention and management of forest fire in the country and Ministry is taking actions for ensuring compliance on the same.

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## ANNEXURE-I

## ANNEXURE  REFFERED  TO  IN  REPLY  OF  PART  (a)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 3643 DUE FOR 08.08.2017 REGARDING PREVENTION OF FOREST FIRE ASKED BY SHRI ANTO ANTONY

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

## ANNEXURE-II

## ANNEXURE  REFFERED  TO  IN  REPLY  OF  PART  (c)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 3643 DUE FOR 08.08.2017 REGARDING PREVENTION OF FOREST FIRE ASKED BY SHRI ANTO ANTONY

| S.             |                                      | Fire Incidence Class   | Fire Incidence Class   | Fire Incidence Class   | Fire Incidence Class   |
|----------------|--------------------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|
| No.            | 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                  |