Lok Sabha Question No. 828 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-14
Subject: Bamboo Cultivation
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: R.P. MARUTHARAJAA

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  828

TO BE ANSWERED ON 14.12.2018

## Bamboo Cultivation

## 828.    SHRI R.P. MARUTHARAJAA:

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

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  taken  any  steps  for  futuristic  decision  to  exclude bamboo  from  definition  of  tree  under  the  Indian  Forest  Act  of  1927  and  various advisories were also issued to States/UT for relaxing/exempting the regulatory regime for bamboo grown;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the details of States that have relaxed felling and transit rules related to bamboo; and
- (d) the  details  of  employment  potential/generation  and  economic  benefits  of  bamboo cultivation to farmers?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) & (b)  As  per  the  Indian  Forest  (Amendment)  Act,  2017  No.  5  of 2018 published in the Gazette of India on 8 th January, 2018, Section 2(7) of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 has been amended to omit the word 'bamboos' from the definition of 'tree' with effect from  23.11.2017.  This  was  followed  by  various  advisories  issued  to  all  States/UT Governments on 4.12.2017, 22.12.2017 and 25.06.2018 to bring necessary amendment/ modification in their respective State Forest acts/rules in order to ensure a uniform  regulatory  regime  related  to  felling  and  transit  of  bamboo  grown  outside forests.
- (c) 22 States/ UTs have already liberalized/ exempted bamboo from requirement of transit and felling permit. These States are Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland,  Sikkim,  Bihar,  Punjab,  Karnataka,  Chhattisgarh,  Maharashtra,  Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Telangana, Kerala, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh.
- (d) The restructured National Bamboo Mission (NBM) has been launched in April, 2018 under  the  National  Mission  for  Sustainable  Agriculture  (NMSA)  under  Ministry  of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. NBM focuses on the development of complete value chain  of  bamboo  sector  to  link  growers  with  consumers  starting  from  planting material,  plantation,  creation  of  facilities  for  collection,  aggregation,  processing marketing,  micro,  small  and  medium  enterprises,  skill  development  and  brand building initiative in a cluster approach mode and help to enhance farmers income. The scheme is being implemented in non-forest Government land and private farmers field and States where it has social, commercial and economical advantage, including the bamboo rich States of North Eastern region and Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh,  Odisha,  Karnataka,  Uttarakhand,  Bihar,  Jharkhand,  Andhra  Pradesh, Telangana,  Gujarat,  Tamil  Nadu  and  Kerala.  The  details  of  plantation  raised  under NBM is given in Annexure-1. The details of State-wise plantation target approved as per  Approved  Action Plans  received  from  States  so far  under  restructured  National Bamboo Mission is given in Annexure-II. All these activities will help in employment generation and economic benefits to farmers involved in bamboo cultivation.

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## Annexure referred to in reply to part (d) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 828 due for answer on 14-12-2018 regarding 'Bamboo Cultivation'.

## Details of plantation raised under earlier National Bamboo Mission from 2006-07 to 2015-16

## Plantation (in hectare)

| S. No.   | States                | Total Plantation   |
|----------|-----------------------|--------------------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh        | 1083               |
| 2        | Bihar                 | 3952               |
| 3        | Chhattisgarh          | 18508              |
| 4        | Goa                   | 11                 |
| 5        | Gujarat               | 14566              |
| 6        | Himachal Pradesh      | 4868               |
| 7        | Jammu &Kashmir        | 1716               |
| 8        | Jharkhand             | 4404               |
| 9        | Karnataka             | 16343              |
| 10       | Kerala                | 1041               |
| 11       | Madhya Pradesh        | 12044              |
| 12       | Maharashtra           | 6710               |
| 13       | Odhisa                | 16020              |
| 14       | Punjab                | 800                |
| 15       | Rajasthan             | 7511               |
| 16       | Tamil Nadu            | 3123               |
| 17       | Uttar Pradesh         | 6248               |
| 18       | Uttarakhand           | 6028               |
| 19       | West Bengal           | 390                |
|          | SUB TOTAL             | 125366             |
|          | NE STATES             |                    |
| 20       | Arunachal Pradesh     | 38577              |
| 21       | Assam                 | 20391              |
| 22       | Manipur               | 49724              |
| 23       | Meghalaya             | 5914               |
| 24       | Mizoram               | 56673              |
| 25       | Nagaland              | 44430              |
| 26       | Sikkim                | 13401              |
| 27       | Tripura               | 7315               |
|          | SUB Total (NE States) | 236425             |
|          | GRAND TOTAL           | 361791             |

Annexure-II

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (d) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 828 due for answer on 14-12-2018 regarding 'Bamboo Cultivation'.

## Details of State-wise approved plantation area during the current year under restructured National Bamboo Mission for 2018-19.

(Area in hectare)

| Sl. No.   | State             |   Total Plantation |
|-----------|-------------------|--------------------|
| 1.        | Andhra Pradesh    |                450 |
| 2.        | Arunachal Pradesh |                600 |
| 3.        | Assam             |               1200 |
| 4.        | Jharkhand         |                110 |
| 5.        | Karnataka         |               1904 |
| 6.        | Kerala            |                780 |
| 7.        | Madhya Pradesh    |               4331 |
| 8.        | Maharashtra       |               2596 |
| 9.        | Mizoram           |                270 |
| 10.       | Sikkim            |                200 |
| 11.       | Tripura           |                500 |
| 12.       | Uttarakhand       |               1005 |
|           | TOTAL             |              13946 |