Lok Sabha Question No. 5201 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-04-03
Subject: Funds to Tamil Nadu for Environmental Issues
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: D. M. Kathir Anand

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5201 TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.04.2023

## Funds to Tamil Nadu for Environmental Issues

## 5201.  SHRI D.M. KATHIR ANAND:

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

- (a) whether  it  is  true  that  India  is  the  third  largest  emitter  of  carbon  dioxide  and greenhouse gases next to USA and China;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the effective measures taken by the Government to curb the prevailing environmental issues  and  problems  like  Air  pollution,  poor  management  of  waste,  water  scarcity, depletion of groundwater tables, water pollution, degradation of forests, biodiversity loss, and land/soil degradation; and
- (d) the total funds allocated to Tamil Nadu to combat major environmental issues during the last five years, year-wise?

## ANSWER

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

(a) and (b)India's portrayal as one of the largest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters globally is mainly based on current annual emissions. However, other metrics of country-wise emissions provide  a  more  holistic  and  unbiased  view.  These  metrics  include  share  in  historical cumulative emissions and per capita emissions. The ranking per se by any metric is of minor value  unless  also  placed  alongside  the  actual  quantities.  India's  annual  emissions  are  well below the three leading emitters - China, United States and the European Union. In per capita terms, India's annual emissions are even lower, and India ranks well below the world average among countries for their per capita emissions. In terms of cumulative emissions, India has contributed only about 4 per cent of the global cumulative emissions from 1850 until 2019. So, the appellation of India as the third largest emitter in the world is highlighted to disguise the  high  contribution  of  the  developed  countries  in  particular  to  both  cumulative  and  per capita emissions.

The national  emissions  must  be judged  both  by  the  equity  in  mitigation  and  in  the light of climate actions being undertaken. On both grounds, India, relative to its responsibility and relative to what equity demands, is doing far more than its fair share. With more than 80% of the global carbon budget, for keeping global temperature increase below 1.5 o C by 2100, having already been consumed mostly by developed countries (since 1850), countries like India are left with very little carbon space for the future. The continuing high emissions of developed countries eats into even this reduced entitlement for India. Despite this, in the post-Paris  scenario,  India,  in  contrast  to  the  large  emitters  from  the  developed  world,  has chosen to walk its climate talk, conscious of the need to pioneer a sustainable development pathway  for  the  entire  globe,  while  attending  to  the  needs  and  aspirations  of  its  people, economy and society.

(c) The Government of India stands committed to combating climate change through its several  programmes  and  schemes  including  the  National  Action  Plan  on  Climate  Change (NAPCC)  which  comprises  missions  in  specific  areas  of  solar  energy,  energy  efficiency, water, sustainable agriculture, Himalayan ecosystem, sustainable habitat, health, green India, and strategic knowledge  for climate change. The  NAPCC  provides  an  overarching framework for all climate actions. Thirty-four States /Union Territories (UTs) have prepared their State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) in line with NAPCC taking into account the  State-specific  issues.  These  SAPCCs  outline  sector-specific  and  cross-sectoral  priority actions, including adaptation.

The  government  seeks  to  address  the  environmental  issues  and  problems  like  air pollution,  management  of  waste,  water  pollution,  water  scarcity,  degradation  of  forests, biodiversity  loss,  and  land/soil  degradation  through  promotional  and  legal  measures.  The promotional  measures  are  undertaken  by  various  ministries/departments  through  various programs, schemes and activities in close cooperation, with state governments and all other stakeholders. Further, the regulatory measures are implemented through Air (Prevention and Control  of  Pollution)  Act,  1981,  Water  (Prevention  and  Control  of  Pollution)  Act,  1974, Environment  (Protection)  Act,  1986;  Forest  (Conservation)  Act,  1980;  the  Wild  Life (Protection)  Act,  1972;  the  Indian  Forest  Act,  1927;  the  Biological  Diversity  Act,  2002; Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016; and rules and Notifications under these Acts, as amended from time to time.

A number ofactions  have  been  taken  by  the  Government  to  combat  air  pollution, waste,  water  pollution,  degradation  of  forests,  biodiversity  loss,  and  land/soil  degradation, which inter alia, includes the following:

-  Ministry  of  Environment  Forest  and  Climate  Change  launched  National  Clean  Air Programme (NCAP) in January, 2019 and is a long-term, time-bound, national level strategy for prevention, control and abatement of air pollution. Under NCAP, it has been  envisaged  to  achieve  reduction  by  20-30%  in  Particulate  Matter  (PM10) concentrations  over  baseline  in  year  2017-18  by  2024-25  in  targeted  131  cities.  To ensure  clean  air  to  all  the  people  of  the  country,  assuring  them  a  healthy  and productive  life,  Government  has  announced  the  intent  and  plan  to  improve  the  air quality in more than 100 cities through holistic approach. Subsequently, the target has been  revised  to  achieve  reduction  in  PM10  levels  up  to  40%  or  achievement  of national ambient air quality standards (60 microgram/cubic meter) by 2025-26.
-  As  per  Solid  Waste  Management  Rules,  2016,  local  bodies  and  village  panchayats shall  facilitate  construction,  operation  and  maintenance  of  solid  waste  processing facilities and associated infrastructure on their own or with private sector participation or through any agency for optimum utilization of various components of solid waste adopting suitable technology including the technologies and guidelines issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs from time to time and standards prescribed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
-  TheCentral  Pollution  Control  Board  (CPCB)  and  State  Pollution  Control  Boards/ Pollution Control Committees in States and Union Territories respectively regularly

monitor the compliance of industrial emission/effluent discharges and other operational activities according to the prescribed standards.

-  The Government has launched several schemes/programmes which include inter - alia the  National  Afforestation  Program,  Green  India  Mission,  Watershed  Development Component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi SinchayeeYojna (PMKSY) which contribute to the target of restoration of 26 million hectares of degraded land and achievement of land degradation neutrality with focus on sustainable and optimum utilization of land resources. This will help in preserving forests and biodiversity, facilitating conservation of natural resources and improving carbon sinks.
-  The  Biological  Diversity  Act,  2002  enacted  in  pursuance  to  the  Convention  on Biological Diversity to which  India is a Party, is aimed  at conservation of biodiversity,sustainable  use  of  its  components,  and  fair  and  equitable  sharing  of benefits  arising  from  the  use  of  these  resources,  also  known  as  access  and  benefit sharing (ABS). The Act is implemented through a three-tiered institutional mechanism,  namely  National  Biodiversity  Authority  (NBA)  at  the  national  level, State Biodiversity Boards at the State level, and Biodiversity Management Committees at the local body level.

(d) The total funds allocated, in the last five years to the State of Tamil Nadu to combat major environmental issues for some indicative schemes of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change are as follows:

(i)  National  Plan  for  Conservation  of  Aquatic  Eco-systems  (NPCA)  is  for  conservation and  management  of  identified  wetlands  and  lakes  in  the  country  on  cost  sharing  basis between  Central  Government  and  respective  State  Governments.  The  scheme  covers various  activities  such  as  interception,  diversion  and  treatment  of  wastewater,  shoreline protection, lakefront  development.  Under  the  NPCA  scheme,  central  assistance  is provided based on proposals received from the State Governments. Funds released under NPCA for conservation of wetlands for last five years in the State of Tamil Nadu are as follows:

| Funds released under NPCA (Amount in Rs. Lakhs)   | Funds released under NPCA (Amount in Rs. Lakhs)   | Funds released under NPCA (Amount in Rs. Lakhs)   | Funds released under NPCA (Amount in Rs. Lakhs)   | Funds released under NPCA (Amount in Rs. Lakhs)   | Funds released under NPCA (Amount in Rs. Lakhs)   | Funds released under NPCA (Amount in Rs. Lakhs)   |
|---------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|
| Sr. No.                                           | Name of Wetland                                   | 2017-18                                           | 2018-19                                           | 2019-20                                           | 2020-21                                           | 2021-22                                           |
| 1                                                 | KazuveliKaliveli                                  | 36.56                                             | 24.94                                             | 38.31                                             | 0                                                 | 0                                                 |
| 2                                                 | Point Calimere                                    | 25.05                                             | 49.90                                             | 44.77                                             | 0                                                 | 0                                                 |
| 3                                                 | Pallaikarni                                       | 44.19                                             | 45.25                                             | 54.13                                             | 0                                                 | 0                                                 |

(ii)  Under  the  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  (CSS)  -Development  of  Wildlife  Habitats, fund is provided to State/UTs mainly for conservation and management of Protected Areas (PAs),  recovery  of  endangered  species,  mitigating  man-animal  conflict,  and  voluntary relocation  of  families  for  creating  inviolate  space  for  wild  animals.  Details  of  funds released  to  State  Government  of  Tamil  Nadu  under  CSS-  Development  of  Wildlife Habitats are as follows:

| Year                |   2017-18 |   2018-19 |   2019-20 |   2020-21 |   2021-22 |
|---------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Amount in Rs. Lakhs |    394.73 |     384.1 |     409.5 |    334.04 |    390.75 |

- (iii) Details of fund released under the two schemes; namely, Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP)  and  National  Adaptation  Fund  (NAF)  for  climate  change  during  the  last  five years are as follows:
- (iv)  National  Afforestation  and  Eco-development  Board  had  implemented  National Afforestation  Programme  (NAP)  for  ecological  restoration  of  degraded  forest  areas through public participation. Details of amount released to the State of Tamil Nadu during last five years are as follows:

| Amount in Rs. Lakhs        | Amount in Rs. Lakhs   | Amount in Rs. Lakhs   | Amount in Rs. Lakhs   | Amount in Rs. Lakhs   | Amount in Rs. Lakhs   |
|----------------------------|-----------------------|-----------------------|-----------------------|-----------------------|-----------------------|
| Year                       | 2017-18               | 2018-19               | 2019-20               | 2020-21               | 2021-22               |
| Climate Change Action Plan | 134.22                | 72.69                 | 12                    | 0                     | 0                     |
| National Adaptation Fund   | 0                     | 2190.12               | 237                   | 0                     | 0                     |

| Amount in Rs. Crores             | Amount in Rs. Crores   | Amount in Rs. Crores   | Amount in Rs. Crores   | Amount in Rs. Crores   | Amount in Rs. Crores   |
|----------------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|
| Year                             | 2017-18                | 2018-19                | 2019-20                | 2020-21                | 2021-22                |
| National Afforestation Programme | 0                      | 2.07                   | 0                      | 0                      | 0                      |

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