Lok Sabha Question No. 2323 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-13
Subject: National Mission on Himalayan Studies
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Raju Bista

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2323

TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.12.2021

## National Mission on Himalayan Studies

## 2323. SHRI RAJU BISTA:

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

- (a) The details of the National Mission on Himalayan Studies and the targets and objectives of the Mission for the next five years;
- (b) The problems identified in various thematic areas along with the solutions proposed for them, State-wise;
- (c) The details of the projects/studies undertaken in the focus areas; and
- (d) The details of the funds released and utilized in this regard during the last financial year?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) The Ministry launched the National Mission on Himalayan Studies (NMHS) in 2015-16 as a Central Sector Scheme to support the sustenance and enhancement of the ecological, natural, cultural, and, socio-economic capital assets and values of the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR).

The  target  and  objectives  of  the  Mission  are  to  build  a  body  of  scientific  and  traditional knowledge  through demand  driven action research;technological innovations along with institutional strengthening and capacity building;science-policy-practice connect; and to demonstrate  workable/implementable/replicable  solutions  to  the  problems  in  priority  thematic areas. The objectives would remain the same for next five years also.

- (b) The problems identified in various thematic areas are addressed by taking demand-driven action  research  across  IHR  States  and  UTs.  Details  of  thematic  area  wise  problems  and  their solutions in various states are annexed.
- (c) Projects have been undertaken in the focus areas of Water Resource Management,Livelihood  Options  &  Employment  Generation,  Biodiversity  Conservation  and Management, Skill Development and Capacity Building, Infrastructure Development, Physical Connectivity and Handling of Waste. Details of the projects are available at www.nmhs.org.in/.
- (d) During  the  last  financial  year,  an  amount  of  Rs.  29.45  crore  was  released  for  the implementation of various projects under NMHS,out of which, an amount of Rs. 28.19 crore was utilised.

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## ANNEXURE

Answer referred to in reply to Part (b) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2323 to be answered on 13.12.2021 on National Mission on Himalayan Studies.

## Details of Broad Thematic Area (BTA) wise problems and their solutions in various States/UTs of IHR

## 1: Water Resource Management

|   S.N. | Problem Identified        | Solutions                         | States/ UTs                                                             |
|--------|---------------------------|-----------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|      1 | Water security in the IHR | Rejuvenation of Himalayan springs | Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim                                |
|      1 |                           | Inventory of mountain springs     | HP, Uttarakhand, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, J&K and Meghalaya |

## 2. Livelihood Options and Employment Generation

|   S.N. | Problem Identified                                                                                   | Solutions                                              | States/ UTs                                                                     |
|--------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|      1 | Bio-resource planning for rural development                                                          | Database on resource status, availability &use pattern | J&K &Nagaland                                                                   |
|      1 | Bio-resource planning for rural development                                                          | Management plan for bio- resources at village level    | Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim                                        |
|      1 | Bio-resource planning for rural development                                                          | Eco-restoration models                                 | Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand Tripura, Sikkim , Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur . |
|      2 | Upscaling tested eco- friendly economic activities for improved livelihood and employment generation | Adoption of tested farming options/technologies        | J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh                 |
|      2 | Upscaling tested eco- friendly economic activities for improved livelihood and employment generation | New eco-tourism opportunities.                         | Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh                    |
|      3 | Database on Himalayan Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS)                                             | Operational database on IKS &Digital Library           | Arunachal Pradesh                                                               |
|      4 | Income generation                                                                                    | Appropriate technologies for income generation         | Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Assam and Tripura                                |

## 3. Biodiversity Conservation and Management

|   S.N. | Problem Identified                                                              | Solutions                                                              | States/ UTs                                                                                    |
|--------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|      1 | Mountain Biodiversity Database& Information System (MBDIS)-focusing on IHR      | MBDIS functional for IHR for data sharing and informed decision making | J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Sikkim |
|      2 | Assessment of ecosystem health and harnessing potential for overall development | Ecosystem integrity profiles for critical ecosystems                   | Meghalaya and Assam                                                                            |
|      2 | Assessment of ecosystem health and harnessing potential for overall development | New approaches for delineating critical components/processes           | J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram         |
|      3 | Recovery of threatened species by involving state and institutional partners    | Field models on recovery of threatened species in degraded systems     | Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Tripura, Sikkim, Meghalaya and Manipur                          |

## 4: Skill Development and Capacity Building

|   S.N. | Problem Identified                        | Solutions                                                                                              | States/ UTs                                                                                          |
|--------|-------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|      1 | Delivering appropriate rural technologies | Demonstration and technology transfer to village communities through trainings and awareness programs. | J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Tripura, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya |

## 5.  Infrastructure Development

|   S.N. | Problem Identified     | Solutions                                                                                                                                               | States/ UTs                       |
|--------|------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
|      1 | Un-safe infrastructure |  Innovative disaster resilient action plans/ models.  Skill Building Centres and Demonstrations on Traditional Buildings in rural setting of the IHR. | Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Meghalaya |

## 6: Physical Connectivity

|   S.N. | Problem Identified                                  | Solutions                                                                                        | States/ UTs                                         |
|--------|-----------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|
|      1 | All weather connectivity for improved accessibility | Eco-friendly technologies/ materials for construction and maintenance of hilly roads across IHR. | Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand |

## 7:  Handling of Waste

|   S.N. | Problem Identified   | Solutions                                                             | States/ UTs   |
|--------|----------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------|
|      1 | Handling of Waste    | Innovative and cost-effective models/ technologies for handling waste | Uttarakhand   |