Lok Sabha Question No. 1204 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-07-28
Subject: Encroachment on Forest Land
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: KAMLA DEVI PATLE

OIH

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

**LOK SABHA**

**UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1204**

TO BE ANSWERED ON 28.07.2015

**Encroachment on Forest Land**

**1204.  SHRIMATI KAMLA DEVI PAATLE:**

Will the Minister of Environment, Forests And climate change be pleased to state:

1. whether the Government is aware of encroachment and unauthorised construction on reserved forest land, especially Government owned forest land;

1. if so, the details thereof; and

(c) the steps taken by the Government to remove the said encroachment?

**ANSWER**

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

(SHRI PRAKASH JAVADEKAR)

|  &(b)   | Forest areas do have encroachments and the State/UT wise details of the forest area under encroachments are given in Annexure. However details of unauthorized construction on Reserve Forest land are not maintained at the level of Ministry.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
|---------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| (c)     | Protection and Management of Forests is primarily the responsibility of the concerned State/UT Government and hence the action to remove encroachment is taken as per the provisions of various acts such as Indian Forest Act, 1927; Wildlife Protection Act, 1972; Forest Conservation Act, 1980 and various rules & regulations thereof. The information on action taken for removal of encroachments by the States/UTs is not compiled at the Ministry level.  Further, to prevent encroachments various measures are taken such as check posts, buildings for frontline staff, use of modern technology that includes wireless network, remote sensing, Geographical Information System, Information Technology, use of Global Positioning System (GPS) and Differential GPS, improved mobility to the field staff by providing vehicles for patrolling, survey and demarcation of forest areas including digitization of recorded forest areas and construction of boundary pillars etc.  In addition to the above, the State/UT Governments take various steps for protection of the forest areas which include patrolling, strengthening of the check posts/barriers and involvement of Joint Forest Management Committees in preventing encroachment on forest land. |

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**ANNEXURE**

**ANNEXURE REFFERED TO IN PART (a) & (b) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1204 DUE FOR REPLY ON 28.07.2015 REGARDING ENCROACHMENT ON FOREST LAND ASKED BY SHRIMATI KAMLA DEVI PAATLE**

| **S. No.**   | **Name of States/UTs**   | **Area of Encroachment (in ha.)**   |
|--------------|--------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 1            | Andhra Pradesh           | 40561.96                            |
| 2            | Bihar                    | 356.00                              |
| 3            | Chhattisgarh             | 118494.60                           |
| 4            | Goa                      | Nil                                 |
| 5            | Gujarat                  | 34791.00                            |
| 6            | Haryana                  | 184.63                              |
| 7            | Himachal Pradesh         | 4600.00                             |
| 8            | Jammu & Kashmir          | 14 345.02                           |
| 9            | Jharkhand                | 27360.21                            |
| 10           | Karnataka                | 81 776.80                           |
| 11           | Kerala                   | 41063.30                            |
| 12           | Madhya Pradesh           | 370484.51                           |
| 13           | Maharashtra              | 183171.80                           |
| 14           | Odisha                   | 78505.08                            |
| 15           | Punjab                   | 7404.00                             |
| 16           | Rajasthan                | 31659.53                            |
| 17           | Tamil Nadu               | 15142                               |
| 18           | Telangana                | 183465.00                           |
| 19           | Uttar Pradesh            | 26831.10                            |
| 20           | Uttarakhand              | 9656.73                             |
| 21           | West Bengal              | 12660.97                            |
| 22           | Arunachal Pradesh        | 58626.57                            |
| 23           | Assam                    | 317215.39                           |
| 24           | Manipur                  | 1918.37                             |
| 25           | Meghalaya                | 9378.00                             |
| 26           | Mizoram                  | 29933.12                            |
| 27           | Nagaland                 | 8721.86                             |
| 28           | Sikkim                   | 3232.87                             |
| 29           | Tripura                  | 6.77                                |
| 30           | A & N Islands            | 4379.36                             |
| 31           | Chandigarh               | 14.00                               |
| 32           | D&N Haveli               | 614.40                              |
| 33           | Daman & Diu              | 87.83                               |
| 34           | Lakshadweep              | Nil                                 |
| 35           | Delhi                    | 629.51                              |
| 36           | Puducherry               | Nil                                 |
|              | **TOTAL**                | **1717272.29**                      |