Lok Sabha Question No. 388 (STARRED), answered on 2020-03-20
Subject: Conservation of Wetlands
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Bhola Singh, Sukanta Majumdar

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

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.*388

TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.03.2020

## Conservation of Wetlands

- *388.  SHRI BHOLA SINGH:

DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR:

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

- (a) the  criteria/guidelines  laid  down  for  declaration/identification  of  wetlands  in  the country along with the details of such wetlands identified, State/UT-wise;
- (b) whether ten more wetlands have recently been recognized under the  Ramsar Convention and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government is implementing National Wetlands Conservation Programme, if so, the details of funds allocated under the programme during the last three years;
- (d) whether the Government has notified Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules with the aim of prohibiting activities in wetlands and if so, the details thereof;
- (e) whether  wetlands  have  been  impacted  due  to  rapid  urbanization,  developmental activities and other anthropogenic pressures and if so, the details thereof; and
- (f) the  other  steps  being  taken  by  the  Government  for  conservation  of  wetlands  in  the country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI PRAKASH JAVADEKAR)

- (a) to (f)   A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

***

## Statement referred to in reply to parts (a) to (f) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. *388 to be answered on Friday, the 20 th March, 2020 on 'Conservation of Wetlands' raised by Shri Bhola Singh and Dr. Sukanta Majumdar.

(a) India is a signatory to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and uses the definition of Ramsar Convention which states that 'Wetlands are areas of marsh, fen, peat land or water, whether  natural  or  artificial,  permanent  or  temporary,  with  water  that  is  static  or  flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters' for identifying wetlands.  Using this definition, Space Application Centre has prepared National Wetland Atlas identifying wetlands covering an area of 15.26 million hectare  across  the  country.  The  Atlas  is  available  in  public  domain.  The  State/UT-wise wetland distribution of India is at Annexure-I .

(b) Based  on  the  criteria  prescribed  by  the  Ramsar  Convention  on  Wetlands,  10  more Ramsar sites were designated in the FY 2019-2020 taking the total number of Ramsar sites in the country to 37. The newly designated sites are Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary, Parvati Arga Bird Sanctuary, Saman Bird Sanctuary, Samaspur Bird Sanctuary, Sandi Bird Sanctuary and Sarsai  Nawar  Jheel  from  Uttar  Pradesh,  Nangal  Wildlife  Sanctuary,  Beas  Conservation Reserve and Keshopur-Miani Community Reserve from Punjab and Nandur Madhameshwar from Maharashtra. Details of these sites are at Annexure-II.

(c) This  Ministry  is  implementing  a  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  of  'National  Plan  for Conservation of Aquatic Eco-systems (NPCA)'. The scheme aims at holistic conservation and restoration of wetlands including lakes for achieving the desired water quality enhancement, besides improvement in biodiversity and ecosystem through an integrated and multidisciplinary approach and a common regulatory framework.

Under  the  scheme  of  NPCA,  financial  support  is  provided  on  cost  sharing  basis between Central Government and respective State Governments for various activities such as interception, diversion and treatment of wastewater, shoreline protection, lake front development,  in-situ  cleaning  i.e.  de-silting  &  de-weeding,  storm  water  management, bioremediation,  catchment  area  treatment,  lake  beautification,  survey  &  demarcation,  biofencing,  fisheries  development,  weed  control,  biodiversity  conservation,  education  and awareness  creation,  community  participation,  etc.  The  details  of  funds  released  during  last three years are Annexure-III.

(d) For conservation and management of wetlands in the country, the Central Government has notified the Wetlands (Conservation & Management) Rules, 2017.  The purpose of the Rules is to promote 'wise use' of Wetlands so as to ensure sustainable development of the wetland ecosystem.  In this context, certain activities that have potential adverse impact on wetland are prohibited or regulated.

(e)  &  (f)  The  wetlands  across  the  country  have  reportedly  been  impacted  due  to  rapid urbanization,  various  developmental  activities,  pollution  problems  and  other  anthropogenic pressures. Ministry has recently initiated a target oriented action programme for rejuvenation and  restoration  of  wetlands  across  the  country.  Under  this  programme,  130  wetlands  were taken up in consultation with State Governments/UTs. A four pronged strategy was adopted and the nodal officers and managers of these wetlands have been trained for working out the threats and health of the wetlands. Analysis of the entire exercise has been shared with the State  Governments/  UTs  and  they  have  been  guided  to  prepare  focused  management  plans based on the threats and health of the wetland.

*****

## Annexure-I

Annexure  referred  to  in  reply  to  part  (a)  of  Lok  Sabha  Starred  Q.  No.  *388  to  be answered on Friday, the 20 th March, 2020 on 'Conservation of Wetlands'

## State-wise wetland distribution in India

| State Code   | State/ Union Territory   | Geographic area (sq.km)   | Wetland area (ha)   | %of state geographic area   |
|--------------|--------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------|-----------------------------|
| 1            | Jammu &Kashmir           | 222111                    | 391501              | 1.76                        |
| 2            | Himachal Pradesh         | 55673                     | 98496               | 1.77                        |
| 3            | Punjab                   | 50362                     | 86283               | 1.71                        |
| 4            | Chandigarh               | 114                       | 350                 | 3.07                        |
| 5            | Uttarakhand              | 53566                     | 103882              | 1.94                        |
| 6            | Haryana                  | 49663                     | 42478               | 0.86                        |
| 7            | Delhi                    | 2966                      | 2771                | 0.93                        |
| 8            | Rajasthan                | 342269                    | 782314              | 2.29                        |
| 9            | Uttar Pradesh            | 240928                    | 1242530             | 5.16                        |
| 10           | Bihar                    | 91689                     | 403209              | 4.40                        |
| 11           | Sikkim                   | 7096                      | 7477                | 1.05                        |
| 12           | Arunachal Pradesh        | 87658                     | 155728              | 1.78                        |
| 13           | Nagaland                 | 16521                     | 21544               | 1.30                        |
| 14           | Manipur                  | 22327                     | 63616               | 2.85                        |
| 15           | Mizoram                  | 21087                     | 13988               | 0.66                        |
| 16           | Tripura                  | 11040                     | 17542               | 1.59                        |
| 17           | Meghalaya                | 22420                     | 29987               | 1.34                        |
| 18           | Assam                    | 78438                     | 764372              | 9.74                        |
| 19           | West Bengal              | 88805                     | 1107907             | 12.48                       |
| 20           | Jharkhand                | 79714                     | 170051              | 2.13                        |
| 21           | Orissa                   | 153845                    | 690904              | 4.49                        |
| 22           | Chhattisgarh             | 135194                    | 337966              | 2.50                        |
| 23           | Madhya Pradesh           | 308414                    | 818166              | 2.65                        |
| 24           | Gujarat                  | 197841                    | 3474950             | 17.56                       |
| 25           | Daman &Diu               | 112                       | 2068                | 18.46                       |
| 26           | Dadra &Nagar Haveli      | 487                       | 2070                | 4.25                        |
| 27           | Maharashtra              | 307748                    | 1014522             | 3.30                        |
| 28           | Andhra Pradesh           | 275045                    | 1447133             | 5.26                        |
| 29           | Karnataka                | 191791                    | 643576              | 3.36                        |
| 30           | Goa                      | 3702                      | 21337               | 5.76                        |
| 31           | Lakshadweep              | 828                       | 79586               | 96.12                       |
| 32           | Kerala                   | 38863                     | 160590              | 4.13                        |
| 33           | Tamil Nadu               | 130409                    | 902534              | 6.92                        |
| 34           | Puducherry               | 492                       | 6335                | 12.88                       |
| 35           | Andaman &Nicobar Islands | 8249                      | 152809              | 18.52                       |
|              | 3297467                  |                           | 15260572            |                             |
|              | Total                    | ( ~329.74mha)             | (                   | 4.63                        |
|              |                          |                           | ~15.26mha)          |                             |

Annexure  referred  to  in  reply  to  part  (b)  of  Lok  Sabha  Starred  Q.  No.  *388  to  be answered on Friday, the 20 th March, 2020 on 'Conservation of Wetlands'

## List of New Ramsar Sites in India

|   S. No | Name of Ramsar site              | State         | Area in hectares   | Date of designation   |
|---------|----------------------------------|---------------|--------------------|-----------------------|
|       1 | Nandur Madhameshwar              | Maharashtra   | 1,437              | 21/06/2019            |
|       2 | Beas Conservation Reserve        | Punjab        | 6,429              | 26/09/2019            |
|       3 | Keshopur-Miani Community Reserve | Punjab        | 344                | 26/09/2019            |
|       4 | Nangal Wildlife Sanctuary        | Punjab        | 116                | 26/09/2019            |
|       5 | Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary         | Uttar Pradesh | 225                | 19/09/2019            |
|       6 | Parvati Arga Bird Sanctuary      | Uttar Pradesh | 722                | 02/12/2019            |
|       7 | Saman Bird Sanctuary             | Uttar Pradesh | 526                | 02/12/2019            |
|       8 | Samaspur Bird Sanctuary          | Uttar Pradesh | 799                | 03/10/2019            |
|       9 | Sandi Bird Sanctuary             | Uttar Pradesh | 309                | 26/09/2019            |
|      10 | Sarsai Nawar Jheel               | Uttar Pradesh | 161                | 19/09/2019            |

## Annexure  referred  to  in  reply  to  part  (c)  of  Lok  Sabha  Starred  Q.  No.  *388  to  be answered on Friday, the 20 th March, 2020 on 'Conservation of Wetlands'

Details of funds released to the State Governments/Union Territories during last thrre years and  current  financial  year  for  conservation  and  management  of  wetlands  under  NPCA scheme.

(Amount in Rs crore)

| S. No.   | State             | 2016-17   | 2017-18   | 2018-19   | 2019-20   |
|----------|-------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| 1.       | Arunachal Pradesh | -         | -         | -         | 1.21      |
| 1        | Bihar             | -         | 3.60724   | 6.5965    | 0.79      |
| 2        | Gujarat           | -         | -         | -         | 1.52      |
| 3        | Haryana           | 0.652     | 0.1320    | 1.4264    | 0.49      |
| 4        | H.P.              | 0.870     | 0.98989   | -         | 0.12      |
| 5        | Jammu& Kashmir    | -         | 23.8201   | 0.86565   | 1.68      |
| 6        | Karnataka         | 2.28      | -         | -         | -         |
| 7        | Kerala            | -         | 2.07075   | -         | -         |
| 8        | Madhya Pradesh    | 12.00     | 0.9240    | 4.24669   | 8.41      |
| 9        | Manipur           | 1.031     | 0.9280    | 3.852     | -         |
| 10.      | Mizoram           | 0.585     | 0.9846    | 1.2153    | 1.92      |
| 11.      | Maharashtra       | -         | 8.74397   | 4.91942   | 3.89      |
| 12.      | Nagaland          | 0.42      | -         | 10        | 5.62      |
| 13.      | Odisha            | 0.399     | 6.1846    | 5.8072    | 4.10      |
| 14.      | Puducherry        | 0.10      | 0.30      | 0.5       | 0.50      |
| 15.      | Punjab            | -         | -         | -         | -         |
| 16.      | Rajasthan         | 13.56     | 1.54      | -         | -         |
| 17.      | Sikkim            | 0.714     | 1.8374    | 3.11818   | 2.60      |
| 18.      | Tamil Nadu        | -         | 1.05795   | 1.200884  | 1.37      |
| 19.      | Tripura           | -         | -         | -         | 3.13      |
| 19.      | Uttar Pradesh     | 26.172    | 2.50      | 18.680276 | 2.93      |
| 20.      | West Bengal       | 1.013     | -         | 0.9965    | 4.29      |
|          | Total             | 59.796    | 55.6205   | 63.425    | 44.57     |
|          | R&D + Workshop    | 0.195825  | 0.342     | 0.5313106 | 0.94      |
|          | G. Total          | 59.9918   | 55.9625   | 63.9563   | 45.51     |