opensansad/lok-sabha-qa huggingface dataset:
Lok Sabha Question No. 757 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-05
Subject: Rollout of Covid Vaccine
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Chandra Sekhar Sahu, Sangamlal Kadedin Gupta, Ramdas Chandrabhanji Tadas, Chandra Prakash Joshi, Shrirang Appa Barne, Sudheer Gupta, Sanjay Sadashivrao Mandlik, Bidyut Baran Mahato, Manoj Kumar Tiwari

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 757 TH

TO BE ANSWERED ON 5 February, 2021

## ROLLOUT OF COVID VAC CINE

## 757. SHRI CHANDRA SEKHAR SAHU:

SHRI SANGAM LAL GUPTA:

SHRI RAMDAS C. TADAS:

SHRI CHANDRA PRAKASH JOSHI:

SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE:

SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA:

SHRI SANJAY SADASHIVRAO MANDLIK:

SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO:

SHRI MANOJ TIWARI:

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a)whether the Government has launched the pan India rollout of COVID - 19 Vaccination drive and if so, the details thereof and the total quantum of funds allocated in this regard;
- (b) the details of the criteria adopted and targets fixed for distribution/allocation of vaccine to various States/UTs;
- (c) whether any case of reaction/problem among the persons provided vaccine has been reported so far in the country;
- (d) if so, the details and the manner in which such reaction/problem has been m anaged;
- (e) whether any other countries have finalized to import Indian COVID - 19 vaccine and if so, the details thereof; and
- (f) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to set up specific infrastructure for smooth movement ofCOVID - 19 vaccines in t he country?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

- (a): Yes,  the  roll - out  of  COVID - 19  vaccination  drive  has  begun  from  16 th January  2021. During  the  initial  phases,  vaccine  is  being  provided  to  the  priority  groups  of  Heal Workers  and  Front  Line  Workers  for  which,  apart  from  free  of  cost  supply  of  vacci operational cost of INR 123.49 crore has been released to State/ UTs.

(b): The distribution of vaccines to States/UTs is being done as per the beneficiaries d registered on the CO - WIN portal.

(c) & (d): A  total  of 7,580 Adverse  Events  Following  Immunization  (AEFIs)  have  been reported so far.

Aftervaccination beneficiaries are advised to wait for 30 minutes at the session s observation.  The  vaccination  sessions  site  is  also  provided  with  medicine  and  staff  m session site are trained to manage any AEFIs. If required cases are referred to AEFI management centres which are usually government health facilities, for further management.

(e): Some countries i.e. Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Afghanistan Srilanka,  Bhutan,  Maldives,  Oman,  Bahrain,  Mauritius,  Seychelles,  Bra zil,  South  Africa  and Mongolia have finalized to import Indian COVID - 19 vaccines, so far.

(f): The  existing  infrastructure  under  Universal  Immunization  Programme  (UIP)  is  bein utilized and is simultaneously strengthened for smooth movement of COVID - 19 va ccines in the country.
Lok Sabha Question No. 756 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-05
Subject: Maternal Mortality Ratio
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: M.K. Vishnu Prasad

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 756

TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.02.2021

## MATERNAL MORTALITY RATIO

756.   DR.VISHNU PRASAD M.K.:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether any Committee has been constituted to look into the matters related to reduction of Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) and improvement of nutritional intake; and
- (b) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

- (a)  &  (b)  A  Task  Force  had  been  constituted  by  the  Government  to  examine  the correlation of age of marriage and motherhood with (i) health, medical well-being and nutritional  status  of  mother  and  neonate/  infant/  child,  during  pregnancy,  birth  and thereafter, (ii) key parameters like Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), Total Fertility  Rate (TFR), Sex Ratio at  Birth (SRB), Child Sex Ratio (CSR) etc. and (iii) any other relevant points pertaining to health and nutrition in this context.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 755 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-05
Subject: Schemes to Increase Forest Resources
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Sunita Duggal

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTIO N NO. 755

TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.02.2021

## Schemes to Increase Forest Resources

## 755. SHRIMATI SUNITA DUGGAL:

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

- (a) the  details  of  schemes  implemented  by  the  Union  Government  to  provide  financial assistance to State Governments to increase forest resources in the country;
- (b) the funds provided by the Government under the said scheme to Haryana during the last two years;
- (c) the  status  of  forestation  in  the  country  as  per  the  India  State  of  Forest  Report  (ISFR) during last two years;
- (d) whether  any  proposal  has  been  received  from  the  State  Government  of  Haryana  to increase the forest resources in the State; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof and the action taken by the Government thereon?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) implements two  major  afforestation  schemes  for  increasing  forest  resources  in  the  country namely National Afforestation Programme (NAP) for tree plantation in degraded forests  through  people's  participation  and  National  Mission  for  a  Green  India (GIM), for plantation on landscape basis.

Besides, the funds are released under Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management  and  Planning  Authority  (CAMPA)  to  States/UTs  for  carrying  out afforestation activities, which also increases green cover.

- (b) An amount of Rs.1282.65 crore has been transferred to State CAMPA of Haryana state from National Authority of CAMPA  during 2019 for taking up compensatory afforestation. However, no funds have been provided to the State of Haryana under NAP and GIM during the last two years.
- (c) The latest 'India State of Forest Report (ISFR 2019) revealed that the total forest and tree cover of the country is 807,276 square kilometres (which is 24.56 percent of  the  geographical  area  of  the  country)  compared  to  802,088  sq  km  (24.39 percent) in ISFR 2017.  There is an increase of 5,188 sq. km. of forest  and tree cover combined, at the national level, as compared to the previous assessment i.e. ISFR 2017.
- (d) and  (e)  Under  CAMPA  Annual  Plan  of  Operation  for  Rs.  96.84  crore  and  Rs.  181.29 crore was approved for 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively for taking up various activities including afforestation. No proposal from Haryana has been received for afforestation  under  National  Afforestation  Programme  during  the  last  two  years and  under  Green  India  Mission,  State  of  Haryana  has  submitted  its  perspective plan for landscape based afforestation.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 753 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-05
Subject: Budget Allocation on Healthcare
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: S. Jagathrakshakan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 753 TO BE ANSWERED ON 5 TH February, 2021

## BUDGET ALLOCATION ON HEALTHCARE

## 753. SHRI S. JAGATHRAKSHAKAN:

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  is  planning  to  take urgent  steps  to  beef  up  public  health infrastructure in India to face present and future challenges;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) w hether the budget allocation for health at present accounts to around 1.4 percent of GDP which is way short of the required minimum of 2.5 percent, and only about 20 percent population is covered by some sort of insurance; and
- (d)  if  so,  corrective measures  taken  by  the Government  to  increase  the  budget  allocation  to healthcare?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

(a) & (b): Health &Hospitals, being a State subject, primary responsibility to strengthen public health infrastructure, lies with the respective State Government. The Central Gove however, provides technical and financial support under National Health Mission (NHM) or improving their health care system.

The Central Government has announced the PM Atma Nirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana (PM - ASBY) for developing capacities of primary, secondary and tertiary care health system strengthen existing national institutions , to create new institutions and to cater to detection a cure  of  new  and  emerging  diseases.  This  will  be  in  addition  to  the  National  Health  M (NHM).

- (c) & (d):  As per the Economic Survey 2020 - 21 brought out by the Ministry of Finance, the budgetallocation for health as percentage of GDP for 2020 - 21 (BE) is 1.8 percent.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), launched on 23.09.2018, health cover is provided upto Rs. 5 lakh per family from secondary and tertiary care hospitaliz to around 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families (approximately 50 crore individuals).
Lok Sabha Question No. 752 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-05
Subject: Super Speciality Hospitals and Trauma Centres in Salempur
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Ravindra Kushawaha

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 752 TO BE ANSWERED ON 5 TH February, 2021

## SUPER SPECIALITY HOS PITALS AND TRAUMA CE NTRES IN SALEMPUR

## 752. SHRI RAVINDRA KUSHWAHA:

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

- Super Speciality Hospital and Trauma Centre in
- (a) whether the Government proposes to set up Salempur(U.P.) parliamentary constituency;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

- (a) to (c): Under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Yojana, Setting up of 22 new AIIMS and 75 projects for upgradation of Government Medical Colleges have been approved. Setting up of Super Specialty Hospital and Trauma Centre in Salempur (U.P) parliamentary constituency not included in the list of approved projects.
Lok Sabha Question No. 749 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-05
Subject: Environment Relief Fund
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Gaurav Gogoi

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 749

TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.02.2021

## Environment Relief Fund

## 749. SHRI GAURAV GOGOI:

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

- (a) the total amount of funds in Environment ReliefFund (ERF) as of December 2020;
- (b) whether the said amount is commensurate withthe compensation awarded via NGT orders between2014-20 and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has clarified the taxstatus of the ERF and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the Government has scrutinized thedisbursal of such compensation awarded by NGT tovictims of industrial disasters and if so, the detailsthereof;
- (e) whether  the  Government  is  aware  of  the  lapsesin  implementation  due  to  which  a significant amount ofthe fund remains unutilized; and
- (f) if so, the details thereof and the correctivemeasures taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) In  exercise of  the  powers  conferred  by  section  7  (A)  of  the  Public  Liability  Insurance (PLI)  Act,  1991,  the  Central  Government  has  established  the  Environmental  Relief  Fund (ERF), 2008. The United India Insurance Company Limited (UIICL) is the Fund Manager of the  ERF  Scheme.  As  per  the  information  provided  by  the  fund  manager,  total  amount  of funds in ERF as of 31.12.2020 is Rs. 895 crores (rounded off).
- (b) The  ERF  was  established  to  provide  immediate  relief  to  the  persons  affected  by accidents occurring while handling any hazardous substance and for the matters connected therewith  or  incidental  thereto.  The  amount  of  compensation  to  be  awarded  has  also  been notified  as  part  of  the  schedule  to  the  PLI  Act.  Application  for  such  claims  are  presented before  the  respective  Collector.  The  Collector  thereafter  by  an  order  directs  the  Fund Manager to deposit an amount from the said Fund to the account of the Collector, who in turn, disburse the same to the Claimant. Further, the Hon'ble NGT has not issued any specific directions for awarding compensation out of ERF.
- (c) The Government has not decided upon the tax status of the ERF.
- (d) In view of the reply to (b) above, the question does not arise.
- (e) &  (f)    The  Central  Government  have  written  to  the  State  Pollution  Control  Boards/ Pollution Control Committees to adequately sensitize implementation and enforcement of the PLI Act, 1991.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 748 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-05
Subject: Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel Park in Andhra Pradesh
Ministry: TEXTILES
Asked by: Balashowry Vallabbhaneni, Adala Prabhakara Reddy, Pocha Brahmananda Reddy, Kuruva Gorantla Madhav, Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, Beesetti  Venkata Satyavathi

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 748

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.02.2021

## MEGA INTEGRATED TEXTILE REGION AND APPAREL PARK IN ANDHRA PRADESH

748.   SHRI BALASHOWRY VALLABHANENI:

SHRI ADALA PRABHAKARA REDDY:

SHRI POCHA BRAHMANANDA REDDY:

SHRI KURUVA GORANTLA MADHAV:

SHRI LAVU SRI KRISHNA DEVARAYALU:

DR. BEESETTI VENKATA SATYAVATHI:

Will the Minister of TEXTILES वस्त्र मंत्री

be pleased to state :

- (a)  whether  the  Government  is  considering  to  sanction  Mega  Integrated  Textile  Region  and  Apparel Park (MITRA) in Andhra Pradesh during the current financial year;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the details of the funds sanctioned for various Integrated Textile Parks in Andhra Pradesh during the previous two years; and
- (d) the present status of the Integrated Textile Park at Guntur, Andhra Pradesh?

## उत्तर

ANSWER

## वस्त्र मंत्री ( श्रीमती स्मृतत ज़ूबिन इरानी )

MINISTER OF TEXTILES

(SMT. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

- (a) & (b): The proposed scheme of Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel  (MITRA) Parks has been    under  consideration.  Recent  Budget  2021-22  announcements  by  Hon'ble  Finance  Minister mentions about this scheme.
- (c): A sum of Rs. 12 crore has been released to two parks during the previous two years, details of which are as follows:

(In Rs. Cr)

| Name of the Park        |   Total GoI share |   Fund released during last two year (2018-19 and 2019-20) |
|-------------------------|-------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|
| Tarkeshwar Textile Park |                40 |                                                          6 |
| Guntur Textile Park     |                40 |                                                          6 |

- (d): The  project  of  Guntur  Textile  Park  Ltd,  Andhra  Pradesh  was  approved  on  11.9.2014  with  a project cost of Rs. 105.12 crore, out of which GoI share is Rs. 40.00 crore. Out of total GoI share, Rs. 10 crore has been released so far. The Park is under progress and an extension has been granted upto June, 2021.

****
Lok Sabha Question No. 745 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-05
Subject: Funds for National AYUSH Mission
Ministry: AYURVEDA,YOGA & NATUROPATHY,UNANI,SIDDHA AND HOMEOPATHY (AYUSH)
Asked by: Jayadev Galla

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AYURVEDA, YOGA & NATUROPATHY, UNANI, SIDDHA AND HOMOEOPATHY (AYUSH)

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED  QUESTION NO. 745 TO BE ANSWERED ON 5 TH February, 2021

## FUNDS FOR NATIONAL A YUSH MISSION

## 745. SHRI JAYADEV GALLA:

Will  the  Minister  of AYURVEDA,  YOGA  AND NATUROPATHY,  UNANI, SIDDHA AND HOMOEOPATHY (AYUSH) be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  it  is  a  fact  that  under  the  National AYUSH  Mission  (NAM)  there  is  a  huge difference between  sanctioned/approved  funds  and  allocated funds during  the  last  five financial years;
- (b) if so, the details thereof, financial year - wise; and
- (c) whether the Government is taking any measures to allocate all approved funds for NAM from the current year onwards and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS AND ADDITIONAL CHARGE OF MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF AYURVEDA, YOGA & NATUROPATHY, UNANI, SIDDHA AND HOMOEOPATHY

(SHRI KIREN RIJIJU)

- (a) & (b): Under  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  of  National  AYUSH  Mission  (NAM) there  is  no  huge  difference  between  sanctioned/approved  funds  and  funds  allocated different States/UTs. The status of sanctioned/approved funds and funds allocated to different States/UTs during last five financial years is furnished as below:

(Rs. In Crore)

| Year     |   Amount sanctioned/ approved |   Actual allocation made to |
|----------|-------------------------------|-----------------------------|
| 2015- 16 |                        331.01 |                      331.01 |
| 2016- 17 |                        417.52 |                      417.11 |
| 2017- 18 |                        489.81 |                      489.08 |
| 2018- 19 |                        457.79 |                      456.49 |
| 2019- 20 |                        495.5  |                      494.91 |

- (c): In view of above, question does not arise.
Lok Sabha Question No. 741 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-05
Subject: Ujjwala and Swadhar Schemes
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Raghu Ramakrishna Raju Kanumuru

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.741

TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.02.2021

## UJJAWALA AND SWADHAR SCHEMES

- 741:   SHRI KANUMURU RAGHU RAMA KRISHNA RAJU.

Will the Minister of Women and Child Development  be pleased to state?

- (a) whether the State Government of Andhra Pradesh has requested the Ministry to  release  the  funds  allocated  to  the  State  under  Ujjwala  and  Swadhar scheme;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c)      the  action  taken  by  the  Government  in  this  regard  along  with  the  details  of funds released/being released to the State so far?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a)  to (c) Funds under Ujjawala and Swadhar Greh schemes could not be released as the State Government has not submitted necessary documents required prior to the release of funds.

***
Lok Sabha Question No. 739 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-05
Subject: Pollution from Construction Activities
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Nayab Singh, (Dr.) Ram Shankar Katheria, Subrata Pathak, Ravi Kishan Shukla, Ravindra Kushawaha

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA

## UN-STARRED QUESTION NO. 739 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.02.2021

## Pollution from Construction Activities

## 739 SHRI NAYAB SINGH:

DR. RAM SHANKAR KATHERIA:

SHRI SUBRAT PATHAK:

SHRI RAVI KISHAN:

SHRI RAVINDRAKUSHWAHA:

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

- (a) whether any step has been taken by the Commission for Air Quality Management to reduce  the  dirt  and  air  pollution  emanating  from  construction  and  demolition activities;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether any action has been taken by the Commission against the agencies which do not comply with the rules, guidelines and dust suppression measures; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof along with the name of the States where action has been taken on such agencies?

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

- (a) to  (d)  With  a  view  to  abate  dirt  and  related  air  pollution  from  the  construction  and demolition activities,  the  Commission directed the Central Pollution Control Board, the State  Pollution  Control  Boards  of  Haryana,  Rajasthan,  Uttar  Pradesh,  and  the  Delhi Pollution Control Committee to constitute special teams and launch inspection drives in the  premises,  processes  and  transportation  of  materials  related  to  C&D  activities  in  the NCR.

Intensive  drives  were  conducted  by  these  agencies  from  24.12.2020  to  31.12.2020  by constituting about 227 teamsin the states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. These teams carried out surprise checks and inspections at more than 3000 C&D sites of which  about  386  sites  were  found  to  be  non-compliant  with  various  C&D  Waste Management  Rules  /  Guidelines  and  dust  mitigation  measures  stipulated  by  CPCB. Further,  an  amount  of  approx.  Rs.1.59  crore  was  levied  as  environment  compensation against the non-compliant entities, besides orders for stoppage of work at 12 locations.

Compliance with respect to transportation of materials related to C&D activities was also seen by the inspecting teams.  About 325 vehicles, not  in conformance  with  guidelines related  to  transportation  of  C&D  materials,  were  levied  environment  compensation charges of approximately Rs. 1.17 crore.

***
Lok Sabha Question No. 737 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-05
Subject: Geographical Mapping of Forest Areas
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Annpurna Devi

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  737

TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.02.2021

## Geographical Mapping of Forest Areas

## 737.    SHRIMATI ANNPURNA DEVI:

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

- (a) whether the Union Government provides separate funds to States for geographical mapping of forest areas located in different States;
- (b) if so, the details of funds provided and spent by the States during the current financial year, State/UT-wise;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  sought  any  clarification  from  the  States  which  have  not utilised any amount for geographical mapping till date; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

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

- (a) to (d)    The Ministry does not provide funds to States for geographical mapping of forest areas. However, Forest Survey of India, Dehradun, an organization under the Ministry carries out the assessment of forest cover of the country biennially and the findings are published in  India  State  of  Forest  Report  (ISFR).  The  forest  cover  assessment  is  a  wall-to-wall mapping  exercise  based  on  remote  sensing  supported  by  intensive  ground  verification and field data from National Forest Inventory. ISFR-2019 is the latest report in the series. As per ISFR 2019, total forest and tree cover of the country is 8,07,276 square kilometre which is 24.56% of the geographical area of the country. The current assessment shows an  increase  of  5,188  square  kilometre  of  forest  and  tree  cover  at  the  national  level  as compared to the previous assessment i.e. ISFR 2017.

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