Lok Sabha Question No. 4527 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-03-20
Subject: Forest Area in Karnataka
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: P. C. Mohan

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 4527

TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.03.2020

## Forest Area in Karnataka

## 4527.  SHRI P.C. MOHAN:

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

- (a) whether the Government has taken cognizance of the report that large amount of forest areas in Karnataka are prone to fire;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the safety measures taken by the Government to protect the forests in the country especially in Karnataka?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI BABUL SUPRIYO )

- (a) & (b)  Fire prone forest areas of different severity classes have been mapped in the India State of Forest Report 2019 based on the frequency of forest fires. Findings of the study indicate that in Karnataka, only 0.29% of the forest cover is extremely prone to fire, whereas 2.64 % of forest cover is found to be very highly fire prone. Nearly 9.99% of the state's forest cover has been estimated to be prone to frequent forest fires.

As per the information received from the Government of Karnataka, the following steps have been taken to stop the incidents of forest fires:

- i. Creation and maintenance of fire lines in pre-fire season in sensitive areas
- ii. Engaging fire watchers from local communities during the fire season
- iii. The Karnataka Forest Department has established a 'Forest Fire Monitoring Cell'  in  collaboration  with  Karnataka  State  Remote  Sensing  Applications Centre, Bengaluru in co-operation with Forest Survey of India and National Remote Sensing Agency, Hyderabad for advance monitoring of fire during the fire season.
- iv. The Forest Department in collaboration with Karnataka Fire and Emergency Service Department establishes temporary fire stations at strategic locations to attend to the emergencies
- v. Hiring of vehicles for quick commute during the forest fires
- vi. Fire extinguishing equipment are provided to field staff.
- vii. Awareness activities,  Street  plays  and  other  programmes  are  conducted  in the villages on the forest fringes to avoid fire incident in the forest.
- viii. Watch towers have been constructed in sensitive areas to find out the place where the fire incidents have occurred.
- ix. Use of satellite imageries and information technology in detection of forest fires.
- x. Providing effective communications devices such as wireless sets.
- xi. In case of major fire, help of Indian Air Force, helicopters are also taken to extinguish the fire.
12. (c) Ministry  of  Environment,  Forest  and  Climate  Change  has  prepared  a  National Action Plan on Forest Fire in 2018 after several rounds of consultation with all the States and Union Territories (UTs). The objective of this Plan is to minimize forest fires  by  informing,  enabling  and  empowering  forest-fringe  communities  and incentivizing them to work in tandem with the State Forest Departments. The Plan also intends to substantially reduce the vulnerability of forests across diverse forest ecosystems  in  the  country  against  fire  hazards,  enhance  capabilities  of  forest personnel and institutions in fighting fires, and speed-up recovery after a fire event.

Since forests are managed by the States and UTs, the responsibility of forest fire prevention and management lies primarily with the respective State Government/UT  Administration.  The  Ministry  supports  the  efforts  of  States  and UTs 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 Scheme.

In addition to above, Compensatory Afforestation Fund Rules 2018 allow the use of CAMPA fund by States and UTs for capacity building, providing appropriate fire fighting  equipment  to  forest  fire  fighting  squads  and  activities  for  forest  fire management.

Forest  Survey  of  India,  Dehradun  disseminates  satellite-based  forest  fire  alerts  to State/UT  Forest  Departments  and  other  registered  mobile  users  whenever  forest fires are detected.

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