Lok Sabha Question No. 619 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-07-20
Subject: Forest Fires
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: KAMAL NATH, JYOTIRADITYA MADHAVRAO SCINDIA

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 619

TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.07.2018

## Forest Fires

## 619.  SHRI KAMAL NATH:

## SHRI JYOTIRADITYA M. SCINDIA:

DR. P.K. BIJU:

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

- (a) whether the forest fires in the recent past few months have destroyed a large area of forest land including properties across the country;
- (b) if so, the details of forest fires reported during the last three years and the steps taken by the concerned State Governments/forest departments to douse the fires;
- (c) whether according to a Forest Survey of India report, around fifty percent of forest areas in the country are vulnerable to fire and if so, the details thereof including the major findings of the report;
- (d) whether the Union Government have provided any financial or technical support to the State Governments to douse the fires; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the Union Government to check such forest fires across the country in the future?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) & (b)  Forest Fire occurs every year during summer due to various natural and anthropogenic reasons including accumulation of inflammable materials such as dry leaves, twigs, pine needles etc. Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun, disseminates the  satellite  based  forest  fire  alerts  to  the  State  Forest  Departments  and  other registered users whenever forest  fires are detected.  The details of forest fire alerts issued to all State/ Union Territory Forest Departments during the last three years is given in Annexure-I.
- (c) Yes. Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun conducts regular inventory of trees in forests  and  outside  forests  in  the  country  under  its  National  Forest  Inventory Programme by selecting 60 Districts randomly in different physiographic zones on a cycle of two years. On the basis of data collected from these 60 Districts and data of preceding 2 cycles, information on incidence of fire is also recorded as one of the parameters and estimates are generated.

The incidence of fire is observed occularly in a circular area of 2 hectare around the plot  center  and  classified  as  'heavy'  if  more  than  50  percent  of  the  area/crop  is affected by fire; 'moderate' if 10-15 percent of the area is affected by fire; 'mild' if the area affected is less than 10 percent. According to the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2013, published by the Forest Survey of India, Dehradun, area under forest fire under different fire class is as given follows:

| Incidence of Fire Class   |   Percent of Recorded Forest Area |
|---------------------------|-----------------------------------|
| Heavy                     |                              1.33 |
| Moderate                  |                              6.48 |
| Mild                      |                             46.1  |

- (d) & (e) The  Ministry  has  provided  financial  assistance  to  State/  UT  Governments  for prevention and management of forest fire under the Centrally Sponsored Forest Fire Prevention and Management (FPM) Scheme. The details of fund released to State/ UT  Governments  for  various  forest  protection measures  including  forest fire prevention and management under the erstwhile Intensification of Forest Management Scheme (IFMS) and the ongoing Forest Fire Prevention and Management (FPM) during the last three years is given in Annexure-II. Further, the Ministry  has  formulated  National  Action  Plan  on  Forest  Fire  and  circulated  to  all State/UT  Governments  for  taking  appropriate  action  for  effective  prevention  and management of forest fire.

***

ANNEXURE-I

ANNEXURE  REFFERED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (B)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED  QUESTION  No.  619  DUE  FOR  20.07.2018  REGARDING  FOREST FIRES ASKED BY SHRI KAMAL NATH, SHRI JYOTIRADITYA M. SCINDIA AND DR. P.K. BIJU

| 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               | 0      | -      | 1      |
| 7        | Chhattisgarh             | 1,272  | 2,808  | 4373   |
| 8        | Dadra &Nagar Haveli      | 0      | 0      | 0      |
| 9        | Daman &Diu               | 0      | 0      | 0      |
| 10       | Delhi                    | 0      | 2      | 5      |
| 11       | Goa                      | 0      | 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      | 0      | 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               | 0      | 0      | 9      |
| 28       | Punjab                   | 7      | 45     | 320    |
| 29       | Rajasthan                | 90     | 66     | 260    |
| 30       | Sikkim                   | 3      | 0      | 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 |

ANNEXURE-II

ANNEXURE  REFFERED  TO  In  REPLY  TO  PART  (d)  &  (E)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 619 DUE FOR 20.07.2018 REGARDING FOREST FIRES ASKED BY SHRI KAMAL NATH, SHRI JYOTIRADITYA M. SCINDIA AND DR. P.K. BIJU

(Rs. In Lakhs)

| S. No.            | States            | 2015-16 (Amount Released)   | 2016-17 (Amount Released)   | 2017-18 (Amount Released )   |
|-------------------|-------------------|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|------------------------------|
| Other States      | Other States      |                             |                             |                              |
| 1                 | Andhra Pradesh    | 0.00                        | 0.00                        | 0.00                         |
| 2                 | Bihar             | 59.09                       | 88.59                       | 75.00                        |
| 3                 | Chhattisgarh      | 120.75                      | 211.04                      | 168.00                       |
| 4                 | Gujarat           | 179.99                      | 122.26                      | 75.00                        |
| 5                 | Goa               | 0.00                        | 0.00                        | 0.00                         |
| 6                 | Haryana           | 77.86                       | 93.91                       | 75.00                        |
| 7                 | Himachal Pradesh  | 302.16                      | 331.36                      | 276.70                       |
| 8                 | Jammu &Kashmir    | 193.93                      | 95.61                       | 75.00                        |
| 9                 | Jharkhand         | 83.62                       | 199.63                      | 105.00                       |
| 10                | Karnataka         | 228.19                      | 203.27                      | 105.00                       |
| 11                | Kerala            | 86.00                       | 163.65                      | 234.53                       |
| 12                | Madhya Pradesh    | 420.00                      | 281.15                      | 168.00                       |
| 13                | Maharashtra       | 447.32                      | 372.58                      | 321.58                       |
| 14                | Orissa            | 136.00                      | 266.14                      | 168.00                       |
| 15                | Punjab            | 77.00                       | 0.00                        | 75.00                        |
| 16                | Rajasthan         | 112.54                      | 174.22                      | 105.00                       |
| 17                | Tamil Nadu        | 203.02                      | 74.29                       | 105.00                       |
| 18                | Telangana         | 0.00                        | 0.00                        | 105.00                       |
| 19                | Uttar Pradesh     | 156.15                      | 139.72                      | 75.00                        |
| 20                | Uttarakhand       | 356.83                      | 304.03                      | 168.00                       |
| 21                | West Bengal       | 0.00                        | 92.83                       | 75.00                        |
|                   | Total             | 3240.45                     | 3214.28                     | 2554.81                      |
| NE& Sikkim        | NE& Sikkim        |                             |                             |                              |
| 1                 | Assam             | 0                           | 0                           | 0                            |
| 2                 | Arunachal Pradesh | 85.07                       | 181.34                      | 102.00                       |
| 3                 | Manipur           | 240.76                      | 125.02                      | 110.00                       |
| 4                 | Meghalaya         | 180.26                      | 126.57                      | 219.88                       |
| 5                 | Mizoram           | 153.17                      | 131.29                      | 90.59                        |
| 6                 | Nagaland          | 122.6                       | 170.01                      | 92.56                        |
| 7                 | Sikkim            | 150                         | 119.73                      | 148.59                       |
| 8                 | Tripura           | 147.19                      | 190.76                      | 66.00                        |
|                   | Total             | 1079.05                     | 1044.72                     | 824.25                       |
| Union Territories | Union Territories |                             |                             |                              |
| 1                 | A &NIslands       | 28.00                       | 56.23                       | 9.00                         |
| 2                 | Chandigarh        | 36.99890                    | 74.52                       | 8.00                         |
| 3                 | D&NHaveli         | 0.00                        | 0.00                        | 0.00                         |
| 4                 | Daman &Diu        | 0.00                        | 0.00                        | 0.00                         |
| 5                 | Lakshadweep       | 0.00                        | 0.00                        | 0.00                         |
| 6                 | New Delhi         | 0.00                        | 50.00                       | 30.00                        |
| 7                 | Pondicherry       | 0.00                        | 0.00                        | 30.00                        |
|                   | Total             | 64.99890                    | 180.75                      | 77.00                        |
|                   | Grand Total       | 4384.49890                  | 4439.75                     | 3456.06                      |