Lok Sabha Question No. 160 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-02-02
Subject: Forest Fires
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: B.V. NAYAK, S.P. MUDDAHANUMEGOWDA

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 160 TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.02.2018

## Forest Fires

## 160.  SHRI B.V. NAIK:

## SHRI S.P. MUDDAHANUME GOWDA:

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

- (a) the number of forest fires, the area affected in hectares and the loss in terms of money, during the last three years, state wise;
- (b) whether frequency of forest fires in the country have increased and if so, the details and the outcome thereof;
- (c) whether an enquiry has pointed out that miscreants purposefully caused fire to encroach upon forest land, if so, the outcome thereof ;
- (d) whether there is any proposal to constitute an independent agency to estimate the losses in real terms and earmark budget for compensation ; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof and the response of the Government thereto?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) The details in respect of State/UT wise number of forest fire alerts as reported by Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun in the last three years is at AnnexureI. The information regarding the area affected in hectares and the loss in terms of money are not maintained at the level of this Ministry.
- (b) As per the forest fire alerts reported by FSI, Dehradun, there was an increase in number of forest fire alerts in the year 2017 in comparison to years 2015 and year 2016.
- (c) The Ministry is not in receipt of any enquiry report indicating that miscreants purposefully caused fire to encroach upon forest land.
- (d) & (e) The Ministry has no proposal to constitute an independent agency to estimate the losses in real terms and earmark budget for compensation.

*******

## ANNEXURE-I

## ANNEXURE  REFFERED  TO  IN  REPLY  OF  PART  (a)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED  QUESTION  No.  160  DUE  FOR  02.02.2018  REGARDING  FOREST FIRES ASKED BY SHRI B.V. NAIK AND SHRI S.P. MUDDAHANUME GOWDA

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