Lok Sabha Question No. 4080 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-08-10
Subject: Commercial Plantation in Forest
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: VINOD KUMAR BOIANAPALLI

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4080 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.08.2018

## Commercial Plantation in Forest

## 4080.  SHRI B. VINOD KUMAR:

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

- (a) whether the Government plans to allow plantations of 'commercially important species' such as teak, eucalyptus and bamboo in forest lands and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  assessed  the  impact  of  monoculture  plantations  on  biodiversity and the local ecology, as well as displacements and violations of the rights of tribal and forest dwelling communities and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  the  Government  plans  to  work  with  tribal  people  to  improve  productivity  of native species and encourage farmers to grow more trees with their crops; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) &(b) The  National  Forest  Policy,  1988  (NFP  1988)  has  envisaged  production  forestry programmes  for  enhancing  the  forest  cover  in  the  country  and  meeting  national needs  along  with  narrowing  the  increasing  gap  between  demand  and  supply  of fuelwood. This has again been emphasized in the recently prepared Draft National Forest Policy, 2018 which proposes that the forest plantations will be improved by intensive  scientific  management  of  forest  plantations  of  commercially  important species like teak, sal, sisham, poplar, gmelina, eucalyptus, casuarina, bamboo etc on degraded &  underutilized forest lands which  are not earmarked  for natural regeneration.  Ministry  has  not  assessed  the  impact  of  monoculture  plantations  on bio-diversity  and  the  local  ecology,  as  well  as  displacements  of  forest  dwelling communities, if any.
- (c) & (d) The  National  Forest  Policy,  1988  encourages  associating  the  tribal  people  in  the protection,  regeneration  and  development  of  forests  as  well  as  to  provide  gainful employment to people living in and around the forest. NFP 1988 also encourages farmers,  particularly  small  and  marginal  farmers,  to  grow  fuel  and  fodder  species and wood species required for industries on marginal/degraded lands available with them  and  on  community  lands.  The  Draft  National  Forest  Policy  of  2018  has proposed  that  tribals  and  local  people  shall  be  associated  in  forest  management through  participatory  forest  management  under  the  National  Community  Forest Management  Mission  for  undertaking  massive  tree  plantation  and  for  managing community forest resources.

Further, the National Afforestation Programme (NAP) encourages the plantation of native forest species in forest areas  giving importance to trees with multiple uses. The  NAP  scheme  empowers  Joint  Forest  Management  Committees  for  species selection  based  on  needs  and  ecological  conditions  along  with  local  factors  in consultation  with  the  State  Forest  Department.  The  Green  India  Mission  also encourages tribal people and farmers to grow more trees within selected landscape by the State Government.

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