Lok Sabha Question No. 145 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-11-29
Subject: Capacity of Carbon Sinks
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Rajiv Pratap Rudy

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 145

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 29.11.2021

## Capacity of Carbon Sinks

## 145. SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY:

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

- (a) the details of the current  capacity of carbon sinks in India in terms of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) equivalent;
- (b) the details of the current rate of afforestation in India, State/UT-wise;
- (c) whether the said rate is  commensurate  with the  target of  creating  an  additional  carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by  2030  and  reduction  of  carbon  emissions  by  1  Billion  Tonnes  as  per  the  India's Nationally Determined Contributions;
- (d) if  so,  the  details  thereof  with  the  intended  plan  to  achieve  the  stated  target  and mechanisms to check compliance and if not, the reasons thereof; and
- (e) whether the Government has made any plans to include massive tree-planting efforts and the restoration of wetlands to absorb carbon and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

(a)  According  to  the  India's  third  Biennial  Update  Report  submitted  to  the  United  Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in February 2021, the Land Use, Landuse Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector was a net carbon sink and sequestered 307.82 million tonnes of CO2e in 2016.

(b) Annual afforestation on an average of 1.79 million hectares has been achieved collectively by the States/UTs through various afforestation and tree planting programs during 2015-16 to 201920. Details of the achievements of afforestation/ tree planting are at Annexure .

(c) to (e) The Government of India has taken several initiatives towards creating the carbon sink of  2.5  to  3  billion  tonnes  CO2  equivalent  through  additional  forest  and  tree  cover  by  2030. Financial assistance to States/UTs under various Centrally Sponsored Schemes including, inter alia,  National  Afforestation  Programme,  Development  of  Wildlife  Habitat,  Project  Elephant, Project Tiger and Forest Fire Prevention and Management Scheme are supporting such efforts. These initiatives also help in conservation of very dense forest and moderately dense forest as well as increase in forest and tree cover.

The  Government  of  India  is  implementing  National  Action  Plan  on  Climate  Change (NAPCC), comprising of eight Missions, which provides an overarching policy framework for all  climate  actions  in  the  country.  Under  NAPCC,  National  Mission  for  a  Green  India  (GIM) aims at protecting, restoring and enhancing India's forest cover and responding to climate change by means of plantation activities in forest and non-forest areas. GIM was launched in 2015-16 and a total sum of Rs. 492.20 crores has been released to fifteen States and one Union Territory for undertaking afforestation activities over an area of 1,84,161 hectares including restoration of wetlands which contribute to achievingIndia'sNationally Determined Contributions (NDC)target.

India  has  also  committed  to  achieve  land  degradation  neutrality  and  restoration  of  26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030. This will help in preserving forests and biodiversity, facilitating  conservation  of  natural  resources  and  improving  carbon  sinks.  The  Ministry  of Environment,  Forest  and  Climate  Change  is  currently  implementing  a  centrally  sponsored scheme 'National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic ecosystems (NPCA)' for conservation and management  of  wetlands  and  lakes.  NPCA  aims  at  holistic  conservation  and  restoration  of wetlands  and  lakes  for  achieving  the  desired  water  quality  enhancement  and  improvement  in biodiversity and ecosystems.

The  Ministry  of  Agriculture  and  Farmers  Welfare  is  also  implementing  the  National Agroforestry Policy (NAP) since 2014. Further, the 15 th Finance Commission has assigned 10% weight to forest and ecology in its horizontal devolution criteria and weights.

***

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (b)  OF  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION  NO.  145  DUE  FOR  29.11.2021  REGARDING  "CAPACITY  OF  CARBON SINKS' RAISED BY SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY

| Sl.No.   | Nameof State/UT     | AreacoveredunderAfforestation/TreePlantation(i n Ha)   | AreacoveredunderAfforestation/TreePlantation(i n Ha)   | AreacoveredunderAfforestation/TreePlantation(i n Ha)   | AreacoveredunderAfforestation/TreePlantation(i n Ha)   | AreacoveredunderAfforestation/TreePlantation(i n Ha)   |
|----------|---------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|
|          |                     | 2015-16                                                | 2016-17                                                | 2017-18                                                | 2018-19                                                | 2019-20                                                |
| 1.       | AndhraPradesh       | 133618                                                 | 274635                                                 | 229409                                                 | 312186                                                 | 190432                                                 |
| 2.       | ArunachalPradesh    | 8                                                      | NR                                                     | 1861                                                   | 1614                                                   | 483                                                    |
| 3.       | Assam               | NR                                                     | NR                                                     | 2085                                                   | 1020                                                   | 1394                                                   |
| 4.       | Bihar               | 41419                                                  | 43279                                                  | 35114                                                  | 21446                                                  | 10588                                                  |
| 5.       | Chhattisgarh        | 133531                                                 | 98697                                                  | 26037                                                  | 81644                                                  | 18735                                                  |
| 6.       | Goa                 | 21                                                     | 38                                                     | 15                                                     | 24                                                     | 30                                                     |
| 7.       | Gujarat             | 150822                                                 | 168733                                                 | 177148                                                 | 31712                                                  | 25149                                                  |
| 8.       | Haryana             | 30643                                                  | 25474                                                  | 17000                                                  | 15639                                                  | 21022                                                  |
| 9.       | HimachalPradesh     | 11449                                                  | 10052                                                  | 9200                                                   | 23406                                                  | 20261                                                  |
| 10.      | Jammu and Kashmir * | 10863                                                  | 7307                                                   | 11371                                                  | NR                                                     | 4526                                                   |
| 11.      | Jharkhand           | NR                                                     | 21005                                                  | 22729                                                  | 15490                                                  | 31476                                                  |
| 12.      | Karnataka           | 69093                                                  | 61686                                                  | 62108                                                  | 41596                                                  | 40304                                                  |
| 13.      | Kerala              | 1117                                                   | 46695                                                  | 11477                                                  | 12982                                                  | 10274                                                  |
| 14.      | MadhyaPradesh       | 7994                                                   | 99197                                                  | 125750                                                 | 174309                                                 | 76708                                                  |
| 15.      | Maharashtra         | 55793                                                  | 42100                                                  | 37393                                                  | 206615                                                 | 501416                                                 |
| 16.      | Manipur             | 2855                                                   | 12247                                                  | 6442                                                   | 5281                                                   | 1856                                                   |
| 17.      | Meghalaya           | 3186                                                   | NR                                                     | 2743                                                   | 780                                                    | 785                                                    |
| 18.      | Mizoram             | NR                                                     | 4050                                                   | 4020                                                   | 4407                                                   | 4425                                                   |
| 19.      | Nagaland            | NR                                                     | NR                                                     | 1539                                                   | 1317                                                   | 1468                                                   |
| 20.      | Orissa              | 170808                                                 | 401452                                                 | 382364                                                 | 73994                                                  | 84130                                                  |
| 21.      | Punjab              | 2934                                                   | 5469                                                   | 6845                                                   | 12177                                                  | 24712                                                  |
| 22.      | Rajasthan           | 70893                                                  | 66815                                                  | 43873                                                  | 34798                                                  | 24533                                                  |
| 23.      | Sikkim              | 1325                                                   | 3376                                                   | 365                                                    | 41                                                     | 2510                                                   |
| 24.      | Tamil Nadu          | 45129                                                  | 39790                                                  | 33147                                                  | 40882                                                  | 14532                                                  |
| 25.      | Telangana           | 236598                                                 | 438059                                                 | 489673                                                 | 453325                                                 | 564760                                                 |
| 26.      | Tripura             | 2339                                                   | 4070                                                   | 4858                                                   | 8112                                                   | 33747                                                  |
| 27.      | Uttarakhand         | 17846                                                  | 18251                                                  | 21397                                                  | 20713                                                  | 22396                                                  |
| 28.      | UttarPradesh        | 165867                                                 | 92128                                                  | 51513                                                  | NR                                                     | 347670                                                 |
| 29.      | WestBengal          | 12169                                                  | 2722                                                   | 25186                                                  | 30694                                                  | 36597                                                  |
| 30.      | A&NIslands          | 1300                                                   | 1125                                                   | 713                                                    | 3896                                                   | 2421                                                   |
| 31.      | Chandigarh          | 167                                                    | 178                                                    | 176                                                    | 180                                                    | 123                                                    |
| 32.      | D&NHaveli #         | 225                                                    | 220                                                    | 200                                                    | 21                                                     | 225                                                    |
| 33.      | Daman&Diu #         | NR                                                     | 10                                                     | 15                                                     | NR                                                     | 60                                                     |
| 34.      | Delhi               | 1498                                                   | 1299                                                   | NR                                                     | NR                                                     | 3956                                                   |
| 35.      | Lakshadweep         | NR                                                     | NR                                                     | NR                                                     | NR                                                     | NR                                                     |
| 36.      | Puducherry          | 86                                                     | 250                                                    | 63                                                     | 52                                                     | 80                                                     |
|          | Total               | 1381596                                                | 1990409                                                | 1843829                                                | 1630352                                                | 2123786                                                |

******