Lok Sabha Question No. 3470 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-08-08
Subject: Non-Forest Areas
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: MANOJ RAJORIA

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  3470

TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.08.2017

## Non-Forest Areas

## 3470.    DR. MANOJ RAJORIA:

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

- (a) the extent of non-forest areas in the country;
- (b) the areas under mining in India both in forest and non-forest areas;
- (c) whether the non-forest area is devoid of any type of bio-diversity; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## (DR. HARSH VARDHAN)

- (a) Forest Survey  of India, Dehradun,  a  subordinate organization under  Ministry  of Environment, Forest and Climate Change carries out the assessment of forest cover of the country biennially and the findings are published in India State of Forest Report. As per the latest report i.e. India State of Forest Report (ISFR) - 2015, the non-forest area in the country is 25, 44,228 square kilometers.
- (b) The area of forest land diverted for mining under Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 from 25.10.1980  to  04.08.2017  is  135873.86 hectares.  The  States/UTs  wise  details  are annexed. According to Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) report on 'Indian Mineral Industry at  a  glance'  for  the  year  2014-15,  total  area  of  3,  40,000  hectare,  covered  under  3868 mining  leases  in  the  country,  as  on  31.03.2015,  excluding  fuel,  atomic  and  minor minerals.
- (c & d)  Non-forest  areas  of  the  country  may  also  be  rich  in  biodiversity,  which  includes innumerable  taxa  in  various  ecosystems  such  as  sacred  grooves,  wetlands,  coastal  & marine ecosystems, agricultural landscapes and community reserves.

**********

## Annexure

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3470 due for answer on 08.08.2017 regarding 'Non-Forest Areas'.

## Total Forest Area diverted for Mining under Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 during the period 25.10.1980 to 04.08.2017.

| S. No.   | States / UTs        |   No. of Cases |   Total Land Diverted (Hectares) |
|----------|---------------------|----------------|----------------------------------|
| 1        | Andaman and Nicobar |              9 |                            22.72 |
| 2        | Andhra Pradesh      |            131 |                          4756.58 |
| 3        | Arunachal Pradesh   |             13 |                            99.28 |
| 4        | Assam               |             82 |                           164.58 |
| 5        | Bihar               |             10 |                           421.9  |
| 6        | Chandigarh          |              0 |                             0    |
| 7        | Chhattisgarh        |            124 |                         22482.6  |
| 8        | Dadar &Nagar Haveli |              0 |                             0    |
| 9        | Daman and Diu       |              0 |                             0    |
| 10       | Delhi               |              0 |                             0    |
| 11       | Goa                 |             44 |                          1794.55 |
| 12       | Gujarat             |             53 |                          9792.28 |
| 13       | Haryana             |              1 |                             0.15 |
| 14       | Himachal Pradesh    |             57 |                          1181.18 |
| 15       | Jammu and Kashmir   |              0 |                             0    |
| 16       | Jharkhand           |            117 |                         14816    |
| 17       | Karnataka           |            150 |                         11617.8  |
| 18       | Kerala              |              1 |                            29.2  |
| 19       | Lakshadweep         |              0 |                             0    |
| 20       | Madhya Pradesh      |            180 |                         15974.3  |
| 21       | Maharashtra         |            113 |                          3337.05 |
| 22       | Manipur             |              0 |                             0    |
| 23       | Meghalaya           |              3 |                           259.52 |
| 24       | Mizoram             |              0 |                             0    |
| 25       | Nagaland            |              0 |                             0    |
| 26       | Orissa              |            189 |                         23828.4  |
| 27       | Pondicherry         |              0 |                             0    |
| 28       | Punjab              |              1 |                             0    |
| 29       | Rajasthan           |            159 |                          5722.89 |
| 30       | Sikkim              |              2 |                             0.66 |
| 31       | Tamil Nadu          |             30 |                           462.25 |
| 32       | Telangana           |             76 |                         16311.4  |
| 33       | Tripura             |             14 |                            24.4  |
| 34       | Uttar Pradesh       |              5 |                          2006.44 |
| 35       | Uttarakhand         |             17 |                           285.01 |
| 36       | West Bengal         |             10 |                           482.75 |
| Total    | Total               |           1591 |                        135874    |