Lok Sabha Question No. 1861 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-21
Subject: Forest Fires
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: KUNWAR PUSHPENDRA SINGH CHANDEL, VASANTHI M., ELUMALAI VELLAIGOUNDER

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1861

TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.12.2018

## Forest Fires

## 1861 . SHRI KUNWAR PUSHPENDRA SINGH CHANDEL:

## SHRIMATI VASANTHI M.:

SHRI V. ELUMALAI:

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

- (a)  the policy of the Government for checking forest fires in the country;
- (b)  the details of incidents of forest fires reported during the last three years, State-wise along with the measures taken by the Government for preventing such incidents;
- (c)  whether it is a fact that just 20 districts mainly cloate in the North East accounted for over 40 per cent of all forest  fires  detected  between  2003  and  2016  in  India,  if  so,  the  details thereof;
- (d) whether it is also true that similarly, the top 20 districts mainly in Central India accounted for about 48 percent of the total fire affected area in the country during the above period, if so, the details thereof;
- (e) whether it is also true that forest fires occur in around half of all the districts in nearly all the States every year, if so, the details thereof;
- (f)  whether it is a fact that the forest fires cause an annual loss of Rs. 1101 crore in India, if so, the details thereof; and
- (g)  whether  it  is  also  true  that  an  aggressive  strategy  and  involvement  of  local  can  help  in controlling forest fires, if so, the steps taken by the Government in this regard?

## 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.

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.    The  responsibility  of  forest  fire  prevention  and management lies primarily with the respective State/UT Governments. The State Governments have their own forest fire management plans. The Ministry supports the  efforts  of  State/Union  Territory  Governments  in  prevention  and  control  of forest fire by providing financial assistance for various forest fire prevention and management measures under the Centrally Sponsored Forest Fire Prevention and Management (FPM) Scheme.

- (c) Ministry  of  Environment,  Forest  and  Climate  Change,  assisted  by  World  Bank, conducted a study which states that 20 districts mainly located in the North East accounted for about 40.29 per cent of all forest fires detected between 2003 and 2016. The details are given in Annexure-II.
- (d) Ministry  of  Environment,  Forest  and  Climate  Change,  assisted  by  World  Bank, conducted  a  study  which  states  that  20  districts,  mainly  in  Central India, accounted  for  about  48.18  percent  of  the  total  fire  affected  area  in  the  country between 2003 and 2016. The details are given in Annexure-III.
- (e) No, Madam.
- (f) The  data  regarding  economic  loss  due  to  forest  fire  is  not  maintained  in  this Ministry.
- (g) Yes, Madam. The involvement of local can help in controlling forest fires. The concerned State Forest Departments take the help of local communities in forest fire management.

*******

## ANNEXURE-I

ANNEXURE REFFERED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) AND (b) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED  QUESTION  No.  1861  DUE  FOR  21.12.2018  REGARDING  FOREST FIRES ASKED BY SHRI KUNWAR PUSHPENDRA SINGH CHANDEL, SHRIMATI VASANTHI M. AND SHRI V. ELUMALAI

| 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  (c)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION  No.  1861  DUE  FOR  21.12.2018  REGARDING  FOREST  FIRES  ASKED  BY  SHRI KUNWAR  PUSHPENDRA  SINGH  CHANDEL,  SHRIMATI  VASANTHI  M.  AND  SHRI  V. ELUMALAI

| S.N o   | District, State, Region               | Fire detections, 2003-2016 (number)   | Share of detections, 2016 (%)   |   fire 2003- |   Share of total forest cover, 2000 (%) |
|---------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------|--------------|-----------------------------------------|
| 1       | Lunglei, Mizoram, North East          | 13,453                                |                                 |         3.82 |                                    0.87 |
| 2       | Karbi Anglong, Assam, North East      | 12,238                                |                                 |         3.48 |                                    1.71 |
| 3       | Dima Hasao, Assam, North East         | 11,608                                |                                 |         3.3  |                                    0.91 |
| 4       | Churachandpur, Manipur, North East    | 11,068                                |                                 |         3.15 |                                    0.87 |
| 5       | Mamit, Mizoram, North East            | 9,005                                 |                                 |         2.56 |                                    0.58 |
| 6       | Lawngtlai, Mizoram, North East        | 8,501                                 |                                 |         2.42 |                                    0.43 |
| 7       | Tamenglong, Manipur, North East       | 8,163                                 |                                 |         2.32 |                                    0.79 |
| 8       | Aizawl, Mizoram, North East           | 6,705                                 |                                 |         1.91 |                                    0.61 |
| 9       | Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, Central      | 6,264                                 |                                 |         1.78 |                                    1.56 |
| 10      | Dhalai, Tripura, North East           | 6,234                                 |                                 |         1.77 |                                    0.4  |
|         | Top 10 subtotal                       | 93,239                                |                                 |        26.5  |                                    8.73 |
| 11      | Champhai, Mizoram, North East         | 5,940                                 |                                 |         1.69 |                                    0.64 |
| 12      | W. Khasi Hills, Meghalaya, North East | 5,220                                 |                                 |         1.48 |                                    0.88 |
| 13      | Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh, Central     | 5,098                                 |                                 |         1.45 |                                    0.78 |
| 14      | Ribhoi, Meghalaya, North East         | 4,835                                 |                                 |         1.37 |                                    0.43 |
| 15      | Kandhamal, Odisha, Central            | 4,753                                 |                                 |         1.35 |                                    1.09 |
| 16      | E. Garo Hills, Meghalaya, North East  | 4,687                                 |                                 |         1.33 |                                    0.5  |
| 17      | Ukhrul, Manipur, North East           | 4,645                                 |                                 |         1.32 |                                    0.78 |
| 18      | Chandel, Manipur, North East          | 4,628                                 |                                 |         1.32 |                                    0.56 |
| 19      | Bijapur, Chhattisgarh, Central        | 4,615                                 |                                 |         1.31 |                                    1.19 |
| 20      | North Tripura, Tripura, North East    | 4,087                                 |                                 |         1.16 |                                    0.33 |
|         | Top 20 subtotal                       | 141,747                               |                                 |        40.29 |                                   15.91 |

## ANNEXURE-III

ANNEXURE  REFFERED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (d)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION  No.  1861  DUE  FOR  21.12.2018  REGARDING  FOREST  FIRES  ASKED  BY  SHRI KUNWAR  PUSHPENDRA  SINGH  CHANDEL,  SHRIMATI  VASANTHI  M.  AND  SHRI  V. ELUMALAI

| S.No   | District, State, Region                         | Fire affected area, 2003-2016 (sq km)   |   Share of burnt area, 2003-2016 (%) |   Share of total forest cover, 2000 (%) |
|--------|-------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|
| 1      | Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, Central                | 4,106                                   |                                 8.24 |                                    1.56 |
| 2      | Bijapur, Chhattisgarh, Central                  | 2,633                                   |                                 5.29 |                                    1.19 |
| 3      | Khammam, Telangana, South                       | 1,923                                   |                                 3.86 |                                    1.13 |
| 4      | Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh, Central               | 1,346                                   |                                 2.7  |                                    0.78 |
| 5      | Warangal, Telangana, South                      | 1,273                                   |                                 2.56 |                                    0.45 |
| 6      | Koriya, Chhattisgarh, Central                   | 1,169                                   |                                 2.35 |                                    0.42 |
| 7      | Adilabad, Telangana, South                      | 995                                     |                                 2    |                                    0.39 |
| 8      | Chandrapur, Maharashtra, Central                | 970                                     |                                 1.95 |                                    0.31 |
| 9      | Surguja, Chhattisgarh, Central                  | 948                                     |                                 1.9  |                                    0.79 |
| 10     | Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, South                  | 895                                     |                                 1.8  |                                    0.23 |
|        | Top 10 subtotal                                 | 16,258                                  |                                32.64 |                                    7.24 |
| 11     | Amravati, Maharashtra, Central                  | 888                                     |                                 1.78 |                                    0.23 |
| 12     | Y.S.R., Andhra Pradesh, South                   | 854                                     |                                 1.71 |                                    0.32 |
| 13     | Prakasam, Andhra Pradesh, South                 | 849                                     |                                 1.7  |                                    0.31 |
| 14     | Dakshin Bastar Dantewada, Chhattisgarh, Central | 803                                     |                                 1.61 |                                    0.73 |
| 15     | Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, Central                 | 799                                     |                                 1.6  |                                    0.36 |
| 16     | Raipur, Chhattisgarh, Central                   | 777                                     |                                 1.56 |                                    0.5  |
| 17     | Betul, Madhya Pradesh, Central                  | 727                                     |                                 1.46 |                                    0.29 |
| 18     | Champhai, Mizoram, North East                   | 707                                     |                                 1.42 |                                    0.64 |
| 19     | Lawngtlai, Mizoram, North East                  | 673                                     |                                 1.35 |                                    0.43 |
| 20     | Dima Hasao, Assam, North East                   | 665                                     |                                 1.34 |                                    0.91 |
|        | Top 20 subtotal                                 | 24,000                                  |                                48.18 |                                   11.97 |