Lok Sabha Question No. 42 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-06-21
Subject: Forest Fires
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Supriya Sadanand Sule, Subhash Ramrao Bhamre, Kuldeep Rai Sharma, Heena Vijaykumar Gavit

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 42

TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.06.2019

## Forest Fires

## 42 . SHRIMATI SUPRIYA SULE:

DR. SUBHASH RAMRAO BHAMRE: SHRI KULDEEP RAI SHARMA: DR. HEENA GAVIT:

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

- (a)  the  details  of  incidents  of  forest  fire  that  have  been  reported  from  different  parts  of  the country  in  recent  months,  along  with  the  details  of  human  lives  lost/public  properties  and forest wealth damaged, State/ UT-wise;
- (b) whether the Government has conducted any investigation by any Independent Agency on the alarming rise of forest fires in the country, if so, the details and outcome thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has provided financial assistance to the States affected by forest fire and if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise;
- (d) whether the Government has made any efforts to hold awareness campaign/ competition on local community level to prevent forest fires, if so, the details thereof;
- (e)  whether  the  Government  proposes  to  incentivise  communities  and  forest  departments  and launch mass social movements to control forest fires, if so, the details thereof; and
- (f) whether the Government proposes to put in place any mechanism for quick response system for fighting forest fires and  to  incorporate  new  technology  and  involving  the  local community in firefighting and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) Yes  Sir,  whenever  forest  fire  occurs,  the  Forest  Survey  of  Indiasends  fire  alert  to different States to control forest fire. The details of forest fire incidents that occurred since January 2019 to 16 th June,2019, as reported by Forest Survey of India, are as per Annexure-I.

As  per  report  received  from  states,  Himachal  Pradesh  has  reported  loss  of  forest property  of  Rs.  81.91lakhandUttarakhand  has  reported  a  loss  of  Rs.55.08lakh.  No loss  of  human  lives  has  been  reported  by  Himachal  Pradesh  and  Uttarakhand.  No other State has reported any such loss so far.

- (b) The  Ministry  in  collaboration  with  the  World  Bank  has  conducted  a  study  on Situation  Analysis  of  Forest  Fire  and  released  a  study  report  titled  'Strengthening

Forest Fire Management in India' which contains various recommendations regarding forest fire prevention, detection, suppression, post-fire  management, engaging with communities, coordination with other agencies etc.

The  inputs  from  the  study  were  used  by  the  Ministry  in  preparation  of  National Action Plan on Forest Fire which was issued in April 2018.

- (c) Yes Sir. The Ministry has provided financial assistance to State/UT Governmentsaffected by forest fire from the Forest Fire Prevention and Management Scheme. The amount  disbursed  to  various  states  during  the  last  three  years  (as  on 31.03.2019) is given in Annexure-II.
- (d) The financial assistance under the Forest Fire Prevention and Management Scheme includes activities for awareness campaign/ competition of local community level to prevent forest fires. The State Forest Department undertakes activities of massawareness and training of local communities to prevent forest fire.
- (e) The State/UT Forest Departments involve local communities, Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs) and Eco-Development Committees (EDCs) etc. in  various  forest  protection  and  conservation  measures  including  prevention  and control of forest fire.
- (f) The  National  Action  Plan  on  Forest  Fire  provides  for  effective  response  to  fire disaster resulting in reduced impact and quicker recovery assatellite based forest fire alerts already sent by FSI   are in operation across the country. As per the National Action  Plan  on  Forest  Fire,  provision  for  establishing  a  dedicated  phone  line  and wireless  network  for  early  detection  and  quick  response  for  fighting  forest  fire, establishment  of  watchtowers,  ground  crew  station  and  location  of  fire  station  has been provided. National and State Disaster Response  Forces, and  army  and paramilitary camps etc.areto be listed for quick response and access by the forest staff and  local communities  for  forest fire control.Firefightingequipmentprovided at various places adjacent to the vulnerable forest fire prone areas will be utilized for quick response for fighting forest fire.

ANNEXURE  REFFERED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (A)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION  No.  42  DUE  FOR  21.06.2019  REGARDING  FOREST  FIRE  ASKED  BY  SHRIMATI SUPRIYA  SULE,  DR.  SUBHASH  RAMRAO  BHAMRE,  SHRI  KULDEEP  RAI  SHARMA,  DR. HEENA GAVIT:

Number of forest fire detected by FSI using MODIS sensors (This includes large, continuous and repeated forest fires) during 2019 to various States/UT's

| STATE               |   FOREST FIRE ALERTS (1 st January 2019 to 16 th June2019) |
|---------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|
| ANDAMAN&NICOBAR Is. |                                                          6 |
| ANDHRA PRADESH      |                                                       1731 |
| ARUNACHAL PRADESH   |                                                        848 |
| ASSAM               |                                                       1893 |
| BIHAR               |                                                        200 |
| CHANDIGARH          |                                                          0 |
| CHHATTISGARH        |                                                       1581 |
| DADRA&NAGAR HAVELI  |                                                          0 |
| DAMAN &DIU          |                                                          0 |
| DELHI               |                                                          2 |
| GOA                 |                                                          9 |
| GUJARAT             |                                                        206 |
| HARYANA             |                                                         14 |
| HIMACHAL PRADESH    |                                                        116 |
| JAMMU &KASHMIR      |                                                         35 |
| JHARKHAND           |                                                        354 |
| KARNATAKA           |                                                       1130 |
| KERALA              |                                                        191 |
| LAKSHADWEEP         |                                                          0 |
| MADHYAPRADESH       |                                                       2622 |
| MAHARASHTRA         |                                                       2302 |
| MANIPUR             |                                                       1729 |
| MEGHALAYA           |                                                       1511 |
| MIZORAM             |                                                       2793 |
| NAGALAND            |                                                       1000 |
| ODISHA              |                                                       1915 |
| PUDUCHERRY          |                                                          0 |
| PUNJAB              |                                                         33 |
| RAJASTHAN           |                                                        370 |
| SIKKIM              |                                                          9 |
| TAMILNADU           |                                                        748 |
| TELANGANA           |                                                       1181 |
| TRIPURA             |                                                       1194 |
| UTTAR PRADESH       |                                                        784 |
| UTTARAKHAND         |                                                       1502 |
| WEST BENGAL         |                                                        243 |
| TOTAL               |                                                      28252 |

## ANNEXURE-II

ANNEXURE REFFERED TO IN REPLY TO PART (C&D) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION  No.  42  DUE  FOR  21.06.2019  REGARDING  FOREST  FIRE  ASKED  BY  SHRIMATI SUPRIYA  SULE,  DR.  SUBHASH  RAMRAO  BHAMRE,  SHRI  KULDEEP  RAI  SHARMA,  DR. HEENA GAVIT:

## (Rs. In Lakhs)

| S. No.            | States            | 2016-17 Released   | 2017-18 Released   | 2018-19 Released   |
|-------------------|-------------------|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
| Other States      | Other States      |                    |                    |                    |
| 1                 | Andhra Pradesh    | 0.00               | 0.00               | 260.06             |
| 2                 | Bihar             | 88.59              | 75.00              | 57.17              |
| 3                 | Chhattisgarh      | 211.04             | 168.00             | 104.60             |
| 4                 | Gujarat           | 122.26             | 75.00              | 92.16              |
| 5                 | Goa               | 0.00               | 0.00               | 87.83              |
| 6                 | Haryana           | 93.91              | 75.00              | 0.00               |
| 7                 | Himachal Pradesh  | 331.36             | 276.70             | 0.00               |
| 8                 | Jammu &Kashmir    | 95.61              | 75.00              | 0.00               |
| 9                 | Jharkhand         | 199.63             | 105.00             | 107.84             |
| 10                | Karnataka         | 203.27             | 105.00             | 174.70             |
| 11                | Kerala            | 163.65             | 234.53             | 279.57             |
| 12                | Madhya Pradesh    | 281.15             | 168.00             | 628.25             |
| 13                | Maharashtra       | 372.58             | 321.58             | 787.28             |
| 14                | Orissa            | 266.14             | 168.00             | 435.00             |
| 15                | Punjab            | 0.00               | 75.00              | 0.00               |
| 16                | Rajasthan         | 174.22             | 105.00             | 98.82              |
| 17                | Tamil Nadu        | 74.29              | 105.00             | 0.00               |
| 18                | Telangana         | 0.00               | 105.00             | 0.00               |
| 19                | Uttar Pradesh     | 139.72             | 75.00              | 100.61             |
| 20                | Uttarakhand       | 304.03             | 168.00             | 438.38             |
| 21                | West Bengal       | 92.83              | 75.00              | 54.14              |
|                   | Total             | 3214.28            | 2554.81            | 3706.41            |
| NE &Sikkim        | NE &Sikkim        |                    |                    |                    |
| 1                 | Assam             | 0                  | 0.00               | 93.23              |
| 2                 | Arunachal Pradesh | 181.34             | 102.00             | 89.08              |
| 3                 | Manipur           | 125.02             | 219.88             | 230.54             |
| 4                 | Meghalaya         | 126.57             | 104.63             | 113.53             |
| 5                 | Mizoram           | 131.29             | 90.59              | 110.47             |
| 6                 | Nagaland          | 170.01             | 92.56              | 83.12              |
| 7                 | Sikkim            | 119.73             | 148.59             | 0.00               |
| 8                 | Tripura           | 190.76             | 66.00              | 109.73             |
|                   | Total             | 1044.72            | 824.25             | 829.70             |
| Union Territories | Union Territories |                    |                    |                    |
| 1                 | A &NIslands       | 56.23              | 9.00               | 26.41              |
| 2                 | Chandigarh        | 74.52              | 8.00               | 1.00               |
| 3                 | D&N Haveli        | 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         | 50.00              | 30.00              | 0.00               |
| 7                 | Pondicherry       | 0.00               | 30.00              | 49.84              |
|                   | Total             | 180.75             | 77.00              | 77.25              |
| Grand             | Total             | 4439.75            | 3456.06            | 4613.36            |

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