PARLIAMENT OF INDIA

RAJYA SABHA 188

DEPARTMENT-RELATED PARLIAMENTARY STANDINGCOMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY,

ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS

ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY-EIGHTH REPORT

ON

DEMANDS FOR GRANTS (2008-2009) OF THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS

(DEMAND NO. 29)

TH (PRESENTED TO THE RAJYA SABHA ON 29 APRIL, 2008)TH

(LAID ON THE TABLE OF THE LOK SABHA ON 29 APRIL, 2008)

TH (PRESENTED TO THE RAJYA SABHA ON 29 APRIL, 2008)TH

(LAID ON THE TABLE OF THE LOK SABHA ON 29 APRIL, 2008)

RAJYA SABHA SECRETARIAT

NEW DELHI

RAJYA SABHA SECRETARIAT

NEW DELHI

APRIL, 2008/VAISAKHA, 1930 (SAKA)APRIL, 2008/VAISAKHA, 1930 (SAKA)

Website:http://rajyasabha.nic.inE-mail:rsc-st@sansad.nic.in

PARLIAMENT OF INDIARAJYA SABHA

DEPARTMENT-RELATED PARLIAMENTARY STANDINGCOMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY,

ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS

ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY-EIGHTH REPORT

ON

DEMANDS FOR GRANTS (2008-2009)OF THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS

(DEMAND NO. 29)

(PRESENTED TO THE RAJYA SABHA ON 29TH APRIL, 2008)(LAID ON THE TABLE OF THE LOK SABHA ON 29TH APRIL, 2008)

RAJYA SABHA SECRETARIATNEW DELHI

APRIL, 2008/VAISAKHA, 1930 (SAKA)

CONTENTS

PAGES

1. COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITTEE ......................................................................................... (i)-(ii)

2. PREFACE ................................................................................................................................. (iii)

3. REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE .................................................................................................. 1—16

4 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................................................................... 17—21

5. MINUTES OF THE MEETINGS OF THE COMMITTEE ................................................................ 23—27

COMPOSITION OF THE DEPARTMENT-RELATED PARLIAMENTARYSTANDING COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY,

ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS (2008)

1. Dr. V. Maitreyan – Chairman

RAJYA SABHA**2. Vacant

3. Shri Suryakantbhai Acharya4. Shri Bhagirathi Majhi5. Shri Kamal Akhtar6. Shri Saman Pathak

7. Shri Jabir Husain**8. Vacant

9. Dr. Barun Mukherjee*10. Shri D. Raja

LOK SABHA11. Shri Jasubhai Dhanabhai Barad12. Dr. Sujan Chakraborty13. Shri Thupstan Chhewang

14. Shri Pankaj Chowdhary15. Shri Francis Fanthome16. Shri Babubhai K. Katara17. Shri A. Venkatesh Naik18. Shri Brahmananda Panda19. Shrimati Neeta Pateriya20. Shri Jaysingrao Gaikwad Patil21. Shri Pratik P. Patil22. Shri Bachi Singh ‘Bachda’ Rawat23. Shri K.C. Singh ‘‘Baba’’24. Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh

#25. Vacant26. Shri Rampal Singh

27. Shrimati Jayaben B. Thakkar28. Shri Aruna Kumar Vundavalli29. Shri Akhilesh Yadav30. Shri Mitrasen Yadav

31. Shri Sita Ram Yadav

** Dr. Prabha Thakur and Shri Ravula Chandra Sekar Reddy ceased to be a Member of the Committee on expiry oftheir term in Rajya Sabha w.e.f. 9th April, 2008.

* Nominated w.e.f. 28th August, 2007.# Shri Rakesh Singh ceased to be a Member of the Committee w.e.f. 1st December, 2007 on his resignation from

the Membership of the Committee.

(i)

SECRETARIAT

Shrimati Agnes Momin George, Joint Secretary

Shri S. Jason, Joint Director

Shri V.S.P. Singh, Deputy Director

Shri S. Rangarajan, Assistant Director

(ii)

(iii)

PREFACE

I, the Chairman of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science andTechnology, Environment and Forests, having been authorised by the Committee to present theReport on its behalf, present this One Hundred Eighty-eighth Report of the Committee. This Reportdeals with the detailed Demands for Grants (2008-2009) of the Ministry of Environment andForests (Demand No.29).

2. In the meeting of the Committee held on the 24th March, 2008, the Secretary and otherOfficers of the Ministry of Environment and Forests gave an overview of the various activities ofthe Ministry and the Members sought clarifications on various aspects of the performance of theMinistry to enable it to scrutinise the Demands for Grants.

3. The Committee express its thanks to the Officers of the Ministry for replying to theclarifications sought by the Members and placing before it the required material to enable theCommittee to scrutinise the Demands for Grants of the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

4. The Committee considered and adopted the Report at its meeting held on the 23rd April, 2008.

DR. V. MAITREYANNEW DELHI; Chairman,April 23, 2008 Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on

Science and Technology, Environment and Forests.

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REPORT

Over the past few decades, a major cause of concern for countries across the world hasbeen the rapid deterioration of the environment. The fast pace of development and industrial growthhas offset the delicate balance of nature. Environmental conservation has not kept pace withenvironmental exploitation. Heeding to this wakeup call the Ministry of Environment and Forestswas created in 1985 as the nodal agency in the administrative structure of the Central Government.The basic mandate of the Ministry is to plan, promote and coordinate environment and forestryprogrammes. With the above overall objective, the Ministry carries out its activities which includeconservation and survey of flora, fauna, forests and wildlife; prevention and control of pollution,afforestation and regeneration of the degraded areas; protection of the environment and welfare ofanimals. These tasks are sought to be fulfilled through environment impact assessment, eco-regeneration, assistance to organizations implementing environmental and forestry programmes,enactment of environmental legislation, formulation of environmental policies, promotion ofenvironmental and forestry research, extension, education and training to augment the requisitemanpower, and dissemination of environmental awareness among all sections of the country’spopulation.

2. The following is the list of attached/subordinate offices/Autonomous organizations, etc.of the Ministry, for which provision has been made in the Demands for Grants for the year2008-09:

• Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata

• Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata

• National Museum of Natural History, New Delhi

• Indira Gandhi National Forestry Academy, Dehradun

• State Forest Service and Rangers College, Dehradun

• Forest Survey of India, Dehradun

• National Zoological Park, New Delhi

• Central Pollution Control Board, New Delhi

• G.B. Pant Himalayan Environment Evam Vikas Sansthan, Almora

• Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Dehradun

• Indian Institute of Forestry Management, Bhopal

• Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun

• Central Zoo Authority, New Delhi and

• Indian Plywood Industries Research Institute, Bangalore.

2.1 The detailed budget allocation of the Ministry of Environment and Forests for the year2008-09 was considered by the Department-related Committee on Science and Technology,Environment and Forests on the 24th March, 2008 and the Demands for Grants of the Ministryhas the following provisions:

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3. ELEVENTH FIVE YEAR PLAN (2007-12) OUTLAYS

On the directions of the Finance Ministry and Planning Commission, an exercise towardssuitable clubbing/merger of a large number of its ongoing plan schemes into smaller number ofthematic schemes has been undertaken for the Eleventh Five Year Plan. Planning Commission hasapproved such merger/clubbing of ongoing schemes into 22 thematic schemes. An allocation ofRs. 10005 crores has been approved by the Planning Commission for the Eleventh Five Year Plan,2007-12 of the Ministry, scheme-wise distribution of which is as follows:

Approved Plan Outlays - Eleventh Five Year Plan

Name of scheme Approved Outlay(Rs. crores)

1. Environmental Monitoring and Governance 216.00

2. Pollution Abatement 235.00

3. Research and Development for Conservation and Development 300.00

4. Conservation of Natural Resources and Ecosystems 600.00

5. Environment Information, Education and Awareness 245.00

6. Environmental Management in Heritage, Pilgrimage and 0.01Tourist Centres Including Taj Protection

7. International Co-operation Activities 80.00

8. National Coastal Management Programme 10.00

9. National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) 2100.00

10. Grants in aid to Forest and Wildlife Institutions 450.00

11. Capacity Building in Forestry Sector 110.00

12. Gregarious Flowering of Muli Bamboos 42.00

13. Intensification of Forest Management 600.00

14. Strengthening Forestry Divisions 100.00

15. Strengthening of Wildlife Divisions 150.00

16. Integrated Development of Wild Life Habitats 800.00

17. Project Tiger 615.00

18. Project Elephant 81.99

19. National Afforestation and Eco-development Board (NAEB) 250.00

20. National Afforestation Programme 2000.00

21. Social Forestry with Communities (Panchayat Van Yojana) 900.00

22. Animal Welfare 120.00

TOTAL: 10005.00

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3.1 The Committee notes that for some schemes like Environmental Management inHeritage, Pilgrimage and Tourist Centres Including Taj Protection and National CoastalManagement Programme, which have engaged the attention of the country as a whole, notmuch emphasis has been given, even though they demand priority. The Committee feelsthat most of the Heritage, Tourist centres are facing a huge problem of pollution due toincrease in domestic and foreign tourist influx. The Committee fails to understand as tohow the Ministry will manage to tackle the problem, with such meager budgetary provisionsof Rs. 0.01 crore and hopes that in future the Ministry would take up such casesemphatically with the Planning Commission.

4. BUDGETARY ALLOCATIONS FOR 2008-2009

4.1 The overall budgetary allocations of the Ministry have been raised from Rs. 1539.00 croresin 2007-08 (BE) to Rs. 1707.00 crores in 2008-09 (BE), implying an overall increase of10.9 per cent. At this level, while non- plan budget is higher by 10.11 per cent, plan budget ofthe Ministry, which accounts for around 88-90 per cent of total budgetary allocations, hasincreased merely by 11.03 per cent in 2008-09.

Overall Budgetary Allocations 2008-09

(Rs. in crores)

Year Non-Plan Plan Total % Increase/Decrease

Non-Plan Plan Total

2007 -08 BE 188.00 1351.00 1539.00 3.75 0.90 1.24

2008-09 BE 207.00 1500.00 1707.00 10.11 11.03 10.92

5. SCHEMES WITH MAJOR INCREASES IN OUTLAYS

The main plan schemes showing significant rise in approved outlays in 2008-09 over theapproved outlays for 2007-08 are given in the Table below:—

(Rs. in crores)

Scheme 2007-08 2008-09 DifferenceBE BE

1. Intensification of forest management 71.65 130.00 58.35

2. National Afforestation Programme, NAP 322.57 345.62 23.05

3. Panchayat Van Yojana-New scheme 0.10 15.00 14.99

4. Integrated development of WL Habitats 62.00 80.00 18.00

5. Project Tiger 65.00 77.00 12.00

6. Capacity building in forestry 0.00 8.00 8.00(new components)

7. BSI (For NBGl, NOIDA) 10.00 18.00 8.00

8. ICFRE 59.00 66.65 7.65

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6. REASONS FOR SHORTFALL IN UTILISATION OF OUTLAYS

6.1 The Committee was informed of the following comparative Sectoral Distribution of PlanOutlays for the years 2007-08 and 2008-09:

(Rs. in crores)

Sector 2007-08 2008-09

Outlay (BE) Anticipated Outlay (BE)Exp. (RE)

1. Environment 259.16 241.59 261.38

2. NRCD 340.00 326.91 340.00

3. Forests and Wildlife 371.61 380.39 475.00

4. NAEB 359.23 430.11 398.62

5. Animal Welfare 21.00 21.00 25.00

TOTAL: 1351.00 1400.00 1500.00

NRCD: National River Conservation Directorate.

NAEB: National Afforestation and Eco-Development Board.

6.2 As against an approved outlay of Rs. 1351.00 crores, the Revised Estimates of the Ministrywere placed at Rs. 1400.00 crores in the previous year. The Committee was assured that theRevised outlays are likely to be utilized fully, provided timely approval is given to the Ministry’ssupplementary grants. When asked about the under utilization of funds in some sectors, theSecretary replied that some of the reasons which had impact on the performance of schemes in-general include:

• In many schemes, implementing agencies are State Governments/ForestDepartments, whose performance depends on timely release of matching grants.Time lag in release of funds by the Ministry and actual availability of funds to theimplementing agencies impacts on the performance of these schemes.

• General procedural reasons impacting releases include procedural delays, includingdelays in receipt of proposals, submission of Utilisation Certificate, revalidation ofunspent balances, completion of works etc.

• The merger/clubbing of ongoing schemes into thematic schemes is expected toprovide greater fundability and flexibility in resource use to various componentswithin a larger umbrella scheme during the Eleventh Plan.

6.3 The Committee notes that the Ministry has attributed the reasons for the shortfallin utilization of outlays which are procedural, such as delay in release of matching grantsby the State Government/forest departments, time lag in release of funds by the Ministryand actual availability of funds to the implementing agencies, delays in receipt of proposals,submission of utilisation certificate, revalidation of unspent balances, completion of worksetc. The Committee notes that the aforesaid reasons stated by the Ministry are routine innature and mostly relate to procedural and administrative mechanisms, which need to beovercome and avoided in future by fine-tuning the procedures involved.

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7. NEW SCHEMES

The Ministry of Environment and Forests in its Annual Plan 2008-09 has proposed an outlayof Rs. 236.14 crores for new schemes/new components in existing schemes. However, given theresource constraint and priority accorded to completion of ongoing schemes, a lower provision ofRs. 47.00 crores only have been approved for these schemes. Proposed and approved outlays forthese new schemes are shown in Table given below:

New plan scheme/components proposed in the Annual Plan 2008-09

(Rs. in crores)

Scheme Outlay ApprovedProposed by Outlay

MOEF

1. Afforestation through PRI—Panchayat Van Yojana 100.00 15.00

2. Capacity Building in Forestry Sector 15.14 8.00

(i) Training of personnel of other services 2.52 2.00

(ii) Foreign Training of Forestry personnel 10.88 5.00

(iii) Training of other stakeholders 1.74 1.00

3. Integrated development of wildlife Habitats 95.00 15.00

(i) Recovery programme for saving critically 35.00 5.00endangered species and habitats

(ii) Protection of Wildlife outside Protected areas 60.00 10.00

4. Intensification of forest management 26.00 9.00

(i) Conservation and Restoration of unique 15.50 3.00vegetation/Ecosystems

(ii) Protection of sacred groves 10.50 6.00

TOTAL: 236.14 47.00

7.1 The Committee notes that priority in fund allocation has been accorded to ongoingschemes, leading to lower allocation for new schemes. The Committee is aware that giventhe resource constraint, the need to accord priority to ongoing schemes is genuine. However,the Committee is constrained to observe that with such low allocations, it would not bepossible to pursue the new schemes with full strength. The new schemes which are proposedby the Ministry are in keeping with the new demand for conservation of the environment/wildlife in general and, therefore, should not lag behind due to paucity of funds. TheCommittee feels that the Ministry should take up the issue of more fund allocation at R.E.stage for new schemes, with the Planning Commission, in right earnest and impress uponthem the need for such higher allocation, indicating the seriousness of the Ministry toachieve its new goals.

8. PREVENTION OF POLLUTION OF NATIONAL RIVERS

8.1 The scope of the erstwhile scheme ‘‘Prevention and control of pollution of River Ganga’’has been widened to cover all national rivers and lakes and the scheme has been renamed

6

‘‘Prevention of Pollution of National Rivers and Lakes’’. An action plan has been drawn up forcleaning the polluted stretches of National Rivers and to oversee its implementation. The majorwork relates to diversion, sewer cleaning and renovation of pumping sets. The schemes proposedto be taken up are (i) interception and diversion of waste water from flowing into rivers;(ii) treatment of waste water for recovery of resources such as bioenergy; (iii) other sanitationmeasures, such as low cost sanitation, biological conservation, etc. Under National LakeConservation Programme, 42 urban lakes have been identified for conservation to prevent theirfurther deterioration.

8.2 The broad head ‘‘Prevention of Pollution of National Rivers’’ has been divided into(i) National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD), (ii) National River Conservation Programme(NRCP) and (iii) National Lake Conservation Plan(NLCP). The total budgetary allocation ofRs. 335.00 crores (B.E), for the year 2008-09, under the head has been divided into Rs.6.00 croresfor NRCD, Rs.249.00 crores for NRCP and Rs. 80.00 crores for NLCP.

8.3 The Committee was informed that the National River Conservation Directorate is presentlyadministering the Centrally Sponsored Schemes of National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) andNational Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP) to undertake pollution abatement works in major riversand lakes in the country. These works are implemented by the Implementing Agencies nominatedby the State Governments.

8.4 The Committee was further informed that an amount of Rs. 35.00 crore was re-appropriated with the approval of the Ministry of Finance in June, 2007 for meeting the expenditureof the Establishment related provisions under various other schemes of the Ministry including anamount of Rs. 4.32 crore for the schemes operated by NRCD. The Ministry also informed thatdue to slow progress of works in the Yamuna Action Plan-Phase-Il project, in the three Statesof Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, a reduction has been made. As regards the requirement for2008-09, lesser projection of demand in the Budget Estimates is primarily because of NRCDfocusing on completion of the ongoing sanctioned works considering the availability of funds underthe Central Plans of Ministry of Urban Development for civic infrastructure projects hitherto fundedunder NRCP.

8.5 The Committee was informed that besides the regular water quality monitoring carried outin identified polluted stretches of the rivers by independent reputed institutions, monitoring is alsodone by the Central Pollution Control Board. The Ministry has claimed that the water quality datashows that despite a phenomenal increase in the urban population along the river banks, there hasbeen a discernible improvement in the water quality of river Ganga at major locations as comparedto its quality prior to the implementation of Ganga Action Plan. The Committee was informed thata sewage treatment capacity of 869 mld. (million litres per day) under Phase-I has been createdunder the programme and an amount of about Rs. 452.00 crores has been spent on this phase,which was declared completed in March 2000. Works under Ganga Action Plan Phase-II (presentlypart of National River Conservation Plan) have been taken up in 59 towns along the main streamof the river Ganga at an approved cost of Rs. 663.00 crores. The Ministry further admitted thatwhile the water quality of river Yamuna is within the prescribed limits in the State of Haryana, ithas not shown the desired improvement in Delhi and some parts of Uttar Pradesh because ofphenomenal increase in population upstream of the river and lack of availability of fresh water forensuring minimum flow in the river.

8.6 The Committee expresses its serious concern over the fact that though from thetime of its initiation, crores have been spent on the Ganga Action Plan, there has not beenmuch improvement in water quality in reality, despite the claims of the Ministry. Thepractice of dumping untreated sewage from cities on the banks of the Ganga and dead

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bodies and carcasses in the river continues unabated causing pollution. The Committee feelsthat the project has suffered due to apathy and lack of a suitable system in place tomonitor the implementation.

8.7 The Committee also expresses its concern at the fact that there has been marginalreduction in allocation due to slow progress of works in the Yamuna Action Plan in thethree States of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, despite the fact that water qualityremains below the acceptable norms. Industrial and domestic sewage discharge and opendefecation continues, despite various legislations to control and stop the pollution levels.The Committee also expresses its concern at the fact that though there has been no dearthof funds for the Yamuna Action Plan, no satisfactory results have been achieved as regardscleaning of the river, which provides drinking water to Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradeshand the river has infact turned into a dirty drain.

8.8 The Committee also expresses its concern at the fact that no proper mechanism hasbeen created towards recharging the Yamuna river. The Committee recommends that aproper system be set up for recharging the river by creating man-made water bodies likereservoirs and catchment areas, which can store the monsoon water, which usually goes intodrains and then stored water can be released into the river during the lean season.

8.9 The Committee feels that there is a urgent need to pin-point the reasons for thefailure of such major projects and to take urgent steps towards rectifying the problemareas. The Committee also recommends that to make the projects result oriented, theMinistry should take stringent action against officials who are found lacking in terms ofdeliverance and penal action be taken against the defaulters for violating of legislations.

8.10 The Committee further recommends that the Ministry should develop a propercoordination mechanism with the agencies/departments/ministries involved in cleaning upthe river Yamuna and Ganga to solve the problem. The research activities of the scientificdepartments with regard to treatment and waste management may be put to optimum useto prevent pollution of rivers and lakes in the country.

8.11 The Committee notes with concern that an amount of Rs. 35.00 crores has beendiverted from such a significant scheme like National River Conservation Programme(NRCP), to an non-critical area viz. the expenditure on establishment related matters. Thispoints towards the lackadaisical approach of the Ministry towards the problem of river andlake water pollution across the country, though the pollution levels continues to rise at analarming level.

9. FOREST CONSERVATION, DEVELOPMENT AND REGENERATION

9.1 This is an on-going programme to check indiscriminate deforestation and diversion of forestland for non-forest use, strengthening of forest protection force, control of grazing, restriction onremoval of fuelwood as head loads, and supply of alternate fuels. Intensification of ForestManagement is an important scheme under this programme.

9.2 The ‘‘Forest Conservation, Development and Regeneration’’ had been allocatedRs. 76.28 crores and Rs. 82.96 crores at the B.E. and R.E. stages respectively in 2007-08. Theallocation has been substantially increased to Rs. 111.50 crores in 2008-09. The Committee wasinformed that the allocation under the broad head forest conservation, development and regenerationhas been further divided into 7 subheads which are as follows:—

(i) Regeneration-Strengthening of Forest Divisions;

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(ii) Integrated Forest Protection Scheme;

(iii) Intensification of Forest Management;

(iv) Gregarious Flowering of Muli Bamboos;

(v) National Forestry Information system;

(vi) National Coordinated Programme for Assessment of Non-Timber Forest ProductResources and

(vii) Certification Programme for Wood and Non-Wood Forest Resources.

9.3 The Ministry informed the Committee that out of the above schemes, the majorallocation is under Intensification of Forest Management i.e. Rs. 87.00 crores. The main reason forthe increase is due to inclusion of two new components: (a) Conservation and Restoration ofUnique Vegetation and Ecosystems (b) Protection and Conservation of Sacred Groves under thisscheme and also due to demand from States for higher allocation. The Committee was alsoinformed that the Integrated Forest protection Scheme (IFPS), which was being implementedduring the Tenth Plan, has been renamed as ‘‘Intensification of Forest management’’ during theEleventh plan at the instance of the Planning Commission, as such it is not entirely a newprogramme. However, two additional components have been added to make the scheme broadbased. Thus the scheme Intensification of Forest Management has following three components —

— Integrated Forest Protection (all activities as were being implemented duringTenth Plan);

— Conservation and Restoration of Unique Vegetation and Ecosystems; and

— Protection and Conservation of Sacred Groves.

9.4 The Ministry informed that the reasons for the new additional components are as under :—

(i) Conservation and Restoration of Unique Vegetation and Ecosystems: Based on theexperience gained during the implementation of IFPS, it was observed that there are certainforest areas representing unique ecosystems/ certain tree species having enormous economicand/or ecological value. These areas require intensive protection and management with focuson certain activities. However, such intense management is not always possible under theexisting scheme. Some of the examples include the areas of Red sanders, Sandalwood,certain patches of good Sal teak forest, etc.

(ii) Protection and conservation of sacred groves: Sacred groves are patches of climaxvegetation existing in different parts of India, vestiges of an ancient practice in whichpeople protected forests to avoid the perceived wrath of its resident deity. Theses grovesplay an important role as preservation plots and many of them harbor rare, endemic andendangered plant species, because of the restraints exercised due to the fear of deity/deities/spirits residing in these groves. Sacred groves where ever existing are important becausethey are repository of the rare and endangered plant species which may have disappearedfrom the region outside the groves. Thus these groves can act as indicator of forests thatmight have flourished in these regions. Sacred groves represent community initiativetowards protection and conservation of natural resources and they must be protected at allcosts. The sacred groves are subject to various threats on account of increasing bioticpressure.

9.5 In reply to a query regarding the total forest cover and the means for assessing it; theministry stated that under the Tenth Plan an area of about 8.2 million hectares, was brought under

9

forest cover. The Forest Survey of India does a satellite survey every two years and all the areascovered under forest and tree cover which comes in the category of non-forest, whether ongovernment/private/community/agricultural land are reflected in the survey. As per the survey of thecountry’s total geographical area done in the year 2005, 23.4% is under forest and tree cover.

9.6 The Committee notes that the name of the programme ‘Integrated Forest ProtectionScheme’ has been changed to ‘Intensification of Forest Management’, with broadly thesame objectives as the earlier programme with the addition of only two new components.The Committee fails to decipher the logic behind simply changing the nomenclature of theprogramme and feels that unless there is a will and resolve to do something concrete, merechange in the name would not result in any substantial gain. The new components that havebeen added now, could be accommodated even within the ambit of the earlier scheme, withslight modifications/additions.

9.7 The Committee while noting that in the past, even sugarcane fields were counted asforest cover, recommends that the methodology of assessing the green cover needs to bemodified and the latest satellite imaging techniques along with extensive ground truth crosschecking, should be used to distinguish the actual forest cover from other tall crops and tocorrectly estimate the actual area under forest, since correct data assessment is essentialfor proper policy formulation and follow up action.

10. NATIONAL AFFORESTATION AND ECO-DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

10.1 The National Afforestation and Eco-development Board was set up in 1992 with theprincipal aim of promoting afforestation, tree planting, ecological restoration and eco-developmentin the country. Special attention is being given to the regeneration of degraded forest areas andlands adjoining forest areas, national parks, sanctuaries and other protected areas as well as theecologically fragile areas like the Western Himalayas, Aravallis, Western Ghats, etc. The increasein the forest cover to 33% by 2012 is a thrust area for the Ministry. Main schemes under thisprogramme are National Afforestation Scheme, greening India and National Action Programme toCombat Desertification. The implementation of the United Nations' Convention to CombatDesertification and Social Forestry are also being covered under the ongoing schemes.

10.2 The allocation for this programme during the year 2007-08, was Rs. 330.70 crores at B.E.stage which was increased to Rs. 372.52 crores at R.E. stage. The budgetary allocation for theyear 2008-09 has been reduced to Rs. 341.02 crores.

10.3 The Ministry informed the Committee that since the National Afforestation Programme(NAP) Scheme is a demand driven scheme based on village-level microplanning, the allocationwould be sought to be revised at the RE Stage during 2008-09 depending upon the progress ofwork undertaken by the implementing institutions, namely', the Forest Development Agencies(FDAs) at the Forest Division level and the Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs) at thevillage level.

10.4 The Committee was also informed that during 2006-07, fifteen new FDA projects wereapproved raising the total number of operational FDA projects to 729 under the NAP scheme. Inaddition to the new projects, assistance was also provided to the ongoing FDA projects during2006-07. As on 31-03-2007, the total approved project area for treatment under the 729 FDAprojects was 9.36 lakh hectares through 24,215 JFMCs at a total cost of Rs.1658.09 crores,against which total amount of Rs. 1180.64 crores was released till that date.

10.5 During 2007-08, twenty four new FDA projects have been approved raising the totalnumber of operational projects to 753 at a total cost of Rs. 2063.78 crores to treat a total project

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area of 13.45 lakh hectares (including the Advance Work component of afforestation) through26,772 JFMCs and a total amount of Rs.1461.10 crores was released under the scheme.

10.6 The Ministry has proposed to undertake the following tasks during the year 2008-09 underthe NAP Scheme:—

• Continue support to all FDA projects approved till 2007-08.

• Approve new project area of one lakh hectares

• Operationalise 2,350 new JFMCs.

10.7 The Committee was informed that a new programme, namely the ‘Panchayat Van Yojna’(Social Forestry with Communities), a component of the 'National Afforestation and Eco-development Programme' has been launched during the year and under this programme, fundswould be released directly to the Panchayats. But this programme has been allocated a meageramount of Rs. 15.00 crores in the B.E. 2008-09, as against the Rs. 100.00 crores proposed bythe Ministry.

10.8 When asked about the lesser allocation under this programme, the ministry clarified thatsince it is a new scheme, all the modalities have to be worked out with the Panchayats, to makethem ready to spend the allocated amount. Thereafter depending on the performance the PlanningCommision is expected to release a larger amount next year, which has been reduced this yearspecially because of allocations in various priority sectors.

10.9 The Committee expresses its concern at the fact that even though the Ministryintends to achieve the target of 33% of Forest cover by 2012, the only scheme that treatsafforestation in a holistic manner and seeks to involve the communities and the society ingeneral in the preservation and conservation of forests has been deprived of funds. TheCommittee notes with concern that the modalities for the scheme-Panchayat Van Yojana,are yet to be worked out with the Panchayats and feels that the Ministry should have donethe ground work for the scheme well before launching this programme so as to ensureutilisation of funds and successful implementation of the scheme.

10.10 The Committee recommends that Ministry should formulate an effective strategy tocreate mass awareness about afforestation among poor people and tribal communities, whodepend on forests in different ways as it may, in turn not only increase forest cover butwould also provide better opportunity, empowerment, livelihood and security to them.

11. ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION/TRAINING/EXTENSION

11.1 The Ministry has been according priority to environmental education to almost all agegroups of the country’s population through exhibitions and training programmes, etc. The Ministryis also involved in promoting environmental education by imparting non-formal education at theprimary and secondary school level and in colleges and universities. The main activities under thescheme are (a) National Environmental Awareness Campaign; (b) Eco-clubs (National Green Crops);and (c) Mass Awareness.

11.2 Environmental Education/Training/Extension has been allocated Rs. 62.03 crores.In 2008-09, whereas last year the allocation was Rs. 35.54 crores at B.E. stage, which wasenchanced to Rs. 46.58 crores at R.E. stage.

11.3 The Committee was informed that the National Green Corps (NGC) Programme is beingimplemented all over the country since 2001-02, with the underlying objective of spreading

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environmental awareness amongst school children. This goal is furthered by establishment of eco-clubs in each district of the country, with a focus on action oriented environment programmethrough the. active involvement of students. Though State Govts./UTs are at liberty to set up anynumber of eco-clubs in a district, the financial assistance under the Programme is restricted to 250eco-clubs per district. Apart from stimulating awareness among the school children throughphysical programme of activities about the environmental conservation and protection issues theprogramme visualizes the role of children as agent of change and for dissemination ofenvironmental information among public at large. This programme is being implemented in eachState/UT through the Nodal agency appointed by the State/UT Government with the followingobjectives:

• To make children understand environment and environmental problems.

• To provide environmental education opportunities for school children.

• To utilise the unique position of school children as conduits for awareness of thesociety at large.

• To facilitate children’s participation in decision making in areas related toenvironment and development.

• To bring children into direct contact with the environmental problems facing thesociety they live in and make them think of solutions.

• To involve children in action based programmes related to environment in theirsurroundings.

11.4 A training programme for Master Trainer/Teacher-in-charges of Eco-clubs has beenformulated for the whole country with cost estimate of Rs. 10.90 crores as per details givenbelow:

(a) No. of Master Trainers to be trained: 2476

(b) No. of teacher-in-charges of Eco-clubs: 125333

Training of the Master Trainers has already been launched in current financial year.

Besides the above, number of Eco-clubs which are provided financial support by theMinistry is also proposed to be increased from 87422 during 2007-08 to One Lakh in 2008-09. TheMinistry also proposes to enhance financial assistance to the States for training of schools teachersfor effective transaction of environment education curriculum in the school under the componentof strengthening environment education in school.

11.5 The Committee feels that to deal with the issue of conservation and preservation ofenvironment, in a broad perspective, the younger generation should be made fully aware ofthe environmental concerns that are engaging the attention of the country and world atlarge. Though the Ministry has been doing a commendable job in promoting environmentaleducation by imparting non-formal education at the primary and secondary school level andin colleges and universities, the Committee, however, feels that there is a greater need tostress upon the system of formal education, by including the environmental concepts in theschools/colleges/universities curriculum itself. In this direction the Committee recommendsthat the Ministry’s, proposal to enhance financial assistance to the States for training ofschool teachers for effective transaction of environment education curriculum in the schoolunder the component of strengthening environment education in school, should be given toppriority. Effort should also be made to recognize schools that go green by banning use ofplastic bags, etc. thereby sensitizing children towards environment and environment issues.

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12. PREVENTION OF AIR AND WATER POLLUTION

12.1 The provision covers Grants-in-aid to the Central Pollution Control Board, Assistance toState Governments/Central Pollution Control Board and funding of relevant schemes. The CentralPollution Control Board was set up in 1974. The Board is also responsible for the prevention andcontrol of air pollution. The provision covers grants given for the promotion of common effluenttreatment plants. During Tenth Plan two schemes viz. Environmental Audit Environmental Statisticsand Mapping and Clean Technologies by Small Scale industries were merged as industrial PollutionAbatement through Preventive strategies.

12.2 The Committee was informed that the allocation under the ‘‘Prevention of Air and WaterPollution’’ has shown a decreasing trend. In the year 2007-08 the allocation was Rs. 142.53 crores(B.E.) which was reduced in the R.E. stage to Rs. 140.75 crores. This year it has been furtherreduced to Rs. 137.54 crores (B.E.). The Ministry presented the following break-up of allocationunder the Major Head Prevention of Air & Water Pollution:

(Rs. in crores)

Sl. BE 2007-08 RE 2007-08 BE 2008-09No.

Plan Non- Plan Non- Plan Non-Plan Plan Plan

1. CPCB 45.00 10.2551 37.50 10.46 34.50 11.09

2. Water Cess - 80.3366 - 83.34 - 84.00

3. Promotion of 3.95 - 4.00 - 4.45 -CETPs

4. Prevention of 0.98 - 1.00 - 1.50 -pollution throughpreventive strategies

5. Establishment of 2.00 - 4.45 - 2.00 -EnviromentalAuthorities

TOTAL: 51.93 90.5917 46.95 93.80 42.45 95.09

GRAND TOTAL: 142.53 140.75 137.54

The Committee was also informed of the following reasons for the reduction in the budgetprovision:

(i) As far schemes of Control of Pollution (CP) Divisions are concerned, the figures for2007-08 and 2008-09 are indicated in the Table above. A perusal of Non-Plan figuresindicate the upward trend in RE Stage (2007-08) as well as in BE (2008-09) over theBE (2007-08).

(ii) As far as Plan Expenditure is concerned, the reduction of Rs.7.50 crores at RE(2007-08) and further decrease of Rs. 3.00 crores (i.e. Rs.34.500 crores for BE 2008-09)under the head CPCB is due to following explanation furnished by CPCB:—

(a) CPCB has proposed for setting up of demonstrating project in implementation ofthe project ‘Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) 2000’ on cost sharingbasis in respect of one to two towns in each State of the country. However with the

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introduction of scheme like Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission(JNNURM) and Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and MediumTowns (UIDSMT) by Ministry of Urban Development and to avoid duplication andover lap, the budget estimates for 2007-08 and as envisaged for 2008-09 have beenaccordingly revised.

(b) After detailed review of ongoing scheme on (eco-city), no new towns are proposedand thrust has been laid on completion of the on-going schemes. However, unless theDetailed Project Reports are received from new towns (like Chanderi in M.P. andSwaimadhopur in Rajasthan) the outlays have been accordingly revised.

(c) The new Stations proposed under Water and Air Quality Monitoring Programmes arein operation through State PoIlution Control Boards (SPCB) after December, 2007 andtherefore the revision in the concerned budgetary allocations has been made.

The Ministry has been advised to focus on completion of the ongoing sanctionedworks considering the huge availability of funds under the Central Plans of Ministry of UrbanDevelopment for civic infrastructure projects hitherto funded under National River ConservationProgramme (NRCP). Accoringly, after Annual Plan Consultations, the Budget Estimates for theschemes of NRCD were reduced to the present value of Rs. 340 crore.

12.3 The Committee notes with concern that the budgetary support for the CentralPollution Control Board (CPCB) has been decreased substantially, despite the fact that it isa premier central agency responsible for control and prevention of pollution, and pollutioncontinues to rise unabated across the country. The Committee is also constrained to notethat the responsibility and the funds for the civic infrastructure projects, for controllingurban pollution, hitherto funded under NRCP, has been transferred to the schemes likeJawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and Urban InfrastructureDevelopment Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSMT) under the Ministry of UrbanDevelopment and the funds under CPCB has been reduced.

12.4 The Committee also notes that the allocation under the Promotion of CentralEffluent Treatment Plants (CETP) has been only marginally increased from Rs. 4.00 croresin R.E. 2007-08 to Rs. 4.45 crores in B.E. 2008-09 and expresses it concern that the CETPswhich are an essential component in the treatment of industrial and domestic sewage, hasbeen allocated lesser funds. The Committee strongly recommends that the Ministry shouldseriously look into the issue of polluting industries, which discharge their effluents directlyinto river and lakes. It also recommends that the Ministry may think in terms of taking.some harsh measures like imposing heavy penalties and issuing closure notices to suchIndustrial setups, if they fail to install the requisite effluent treatment plants within aspecified time.

13. WILDLIFE PRESERVATION

13.1 Under Wildlife Preservation, the Ministry provides financial and technical support to theState Governments for the development of National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries under theCentrally Sponsored Scheme ‘Assistance for Development of National Parks and Sanctuaries’.Financial assistance is also provided for management and conservation of habitat of wildlife inprotected areas and grants for wildlife research to institutions, universities and NGOs. Grants arealso provided to strengthen four Regional Offices located at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennaiand three Sub-regional Offices located at Kochi, Guwahati and Amritsar which has been set up tocheck illegal trade .in wildlife and wildlife products and for better enforcement of Wildlife(Protection) Act, Convention on Trade in Endangered Species on Wild fauna and Flora (CITES),etc.

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13.2 Under the Wildlife Preservation Programme, the Centrally Sponsored Scheme Project Tiger,was launched in April, 1973 with the objective of ensuring maintenance of a viable population ofTigers in India for scientific, economic, aesthetic, cultural and ecological values, and to preservingfor all times, areas of biological importance as a national heritage for the benefit, education andenjoyment of the people. The scheme is fulfilled by facilitating focused, concerted management ofecotypical reserves in various states, constituted on a 'core-buffer' strategy through funding thetechnical support, including site-specific inputs to elicit local community support for conservation.

13.3 The Committee was informed that the allocation for the ‘‘Wildlife Preservation’’ wasRs. 188.64 crores and Rs. 191.50 crores in 2007-08, at RE. and R.E. stages respectively, in theyear 2007-08. For the RE. 2008-09 the allocation has been increased to Rs. 226.25 crores. Thisenhancement is for continuation of the existing Centrally Sponsored Scheme viz. Development ofNational Parks and Sanctuaries which has been in operation since 1972 for the protection andeffective management of Protected Areas (PAs) and which is proposed to be renamed as‘‘Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats’’. It would support additional components viz.protection of wildlife outside the PAs and also to initiate species/habitat recovery programme underthe scheme. Further it would provide support for habitat and strengthening anti-poachingoperations.

13.4 The increase in allocation would support the States for staff development and capacitybuilding, including specialized trainings in the use of Global Information system(GIS), GlobalPositioning System (GPS), camera traps, anti-poaching operations, wildlife crime, habitatenrichment techniques, eco-development initiatives, legal issues and wildlife forensics etc. It alsoincludes study tours for the appraisal of good practices in other Protected Areas, disseminationworkshops, specialized trainings in park interpretation, management planning, procurement of audio-visual equipments, publication and procurement of study material, supporting identified stateinstitutions for the training of frontline staff etc.

13.5 As regards the method of estimation of tigers, the Committee was informed that since theinception of Project Tiger way back in early 1970s, the Ministry has followed the ‘pugmarkmethod’, i.e., collating the footprints of tigers and then tallying them and eliminating duplicates.This methodology was found to be effective when the Projects Tiger was in formative years.However, over a period of time, there were a lot of slippages and in 2001 and the Ministryembarked on refining the entire process. The method was standardized, in collaboration with theWild Life Institute of India. The new methodology is not a new innovation, but just an combinationof all the peer reviewed techniques, which were already in place for estimating a carnivorepopulation like tiger. The methodology was tried in all the 17 tiger States and around 3728 breedswere sampled throughout the country covering all the 17 tiger States and it was found that almost93,000 square kilometers of the forest areas have occupancy of tigers. The actual number of tigersusing this method is 1411(mid-value), while the upper value figure is 1657 and the lower valuefigure is the 1165. The Coefficient of Variation is around 17 per cent.

13.6 The Committee was also apprised that considering the urgency of the situation. ProjectTiger has been converted into a Statutory Authority, namely the National Tiger ConservationAuthority (NCTA), in September, 2006 by providing enabling provision in the Wildlife (Protection)Act, 1972 through an amendment and forming a new Act, viz. Wild (Protection) AmendmentAct, 2006. This forms one of the urgent recommendations of the Tiger Task Force appointed bythe Prime Minister. The NTCA would address the ecological as well as administrative concerns forconserving tigers, by providing a statutory basis for protection of tiger reserves, apart fromproviding strengthened institutional mechanism for the protection of ecologically sensitive areas andendangered species. The Authority would also ensure enforcing of guidelines for tiger conservationand monitoring compliance of the same, apart from placement of motivated and trained officers

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having good track record as Field Directors of tiger reserves. It would also facilitate capacitybuilding of officers and staff posted in tiger reserves, apart from a time bound staff developmentplan.

The Ministry stated that the proposed enhancement in the fund allocation is justified thoughnot fully adequate to meet the challenges/threats in the wildlife conservation.

13.7 The Ministry also informed the Committee that it has been assured by the PlanningCommission that whatever funds are needed for relocating families from the critical tiger habitatsi.e. from inside the tiger reserves to the periphery would be provided. The funds for relocation hasbeen increased from Rs. l.00 lakh to Rs.10.00 lakhs per family, and depending on the performanceof the Ministry more funds would be released.

13.8 In clarification to a query of the Committee regarding filling up of vacancies of forestwardens and forest gaurds, who are engaged in the protection of forests and animals; theCommittee was informed that as regards the filling of the Central Government posts, efforts havebeen made to fill the posts and they will be filled up shortly. As regards the posts at the StateGovernment level, the Ministry can only request them to fill the posts but the posts have to befilled up by the State governments. Presently some posts have been filled by the States on dailywages, contractual basis etc, however regular appointments are yet to be made.

13.9 The Committee notes the constitution of the National Tiger Conservation Authority(NCTA) for conservation of tigers in the country, the population of which is declining dueto unabated poaching. The Committee expresses its concern at the fact that though anti-poaching legislations have been in force since 1972, the country has seen a steady declinein the population of tigers, which lead to the intervention at the Prime Ministerial level.These point towards the failure of the Ministry in ground implementation of existinglegislations. The Committee expresses its doubts as to whether the Ministry would be ableto check the decline in the number of tigers, just by renaming the already existingschemes. The Committee, therefore, recommends that initiative for wildlife protectionshould be taken up by the Ministry with full vigour and resolve, so that it does not remaina mere legislation on paper.

13.10 The Committee expresses concern over the general apathy, that the Ministry hasshown towards implementation of legislations regarding forest conservation, protection ofwildlife etc. and recommends that the legislations may be forcefully enforced to prevent anyfurther degradation of environment. In this direction the Ministry should take into accountthe man-animal conflict that the country is currently facing due to pressure of developmentand encroachment of forest land. The Committee welcomes the increase of the funds forrelocation of families from the tiger habitat to the periphery, from Rs.l lakh to Rs. 10.00lakhs and recommends that the Ministry make concerted efforts towards expediting therelocation of families, and ensuring peaceful co-existence of both man and animals.

13.11 The Committee expresses its concern that a large number of vacancies, both in thecentre and states have yet not been filled up. The Committee had last year expressed itsconcern over this matter. Filling of the vacancies in the posts of forests wardens and forestguards are of prime importance for the implementation of the legislations regarding forestconservation and animal protection; the State Governments are lagging behind in the fillingof a large number of vacancies at these levels. The Committee recommends that theMinistry should vigorously pursue the filling up of posts with the State Governments andmonitor the filling up of vacancies, besides filling up of vacancies at the Central Level.

13.12 The Committee further recommends that Ministry should adopt a strategy towardscontrolling supply of wildlife and its products to both domestic as well as international

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markets. The control would not only require strengthening human but also enhancedtechnical surveillance; web patrolling; media watch; creation of crime data bank;strengthening/capacity building of enforcement and prosecution process; life style/livelihoodissues of communities subsisting on wildlife, etc. The Ministry should also embark on astrategy of creating awareness amongst the international buyers; using bilateral andmultilateral mechanisms in trade; international trade. regulatory mechanisms and otherforeign policy measures to reduce the demand.

14. URBAN WASTE MANAGEMENT

14.1 The Committee has been informed by the Department of Atomic Energy that Bhabha AtomicResearch Centre has developed a technology-Sludge Hygenisation Research Irradiator for treatmentof municipal sewage with irradiation facility which is very suitable, effective and easy to integratewith conventional process in the existing sewage treatment facility. One such plant is alreadyoperational in collaboration with Vadodra Municipal Corporation and Government of Gujarat. TheCommittee has also been informed that DAE has developed a kitchen waste (Biodegradable) basedbio-gas plant which would not only serve the purpose of environment friendly disposal of solidwaste but also generate fairly good amount of fuel gas to support the dwindling energy resources.

14.2 The Committee recommends that the Ministry of Environment & Forests shouldseriously pursue the stakeholders-municipalities, corporations, etc., to use thesetechnologies which besides being environment friendly have a number of advantages overthe conventional means like incinerations, landfills, dumping in the sea or other water-bodies, composting, etc. The Ministry should ensure that such sewage treatment plants areintegrated/installed at least in Delhi, Kanpur and other cities along with the Yamuna andthe Ganga which have virtually turned the river into a nallah by dumping untreated sewage.The Committee also recommends that action in this regard be taken on priority in a time-bound manner.

15. After considering the Demands for Grants of the Ministry of Environment andForests and assessing the progress of various important programmes and projectsadministered by it, the Committee recommends that the budgetary allocation of Rs. 1707.00crores, as sought by the Ministry for the year 2008-09, under Demand No. 29, may beapproved.

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SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

1. The Committee notes that for some schemes like Environmental Management inHeritage, Pilgrimage and Tourist Centres Including Taj Protection and National CoastalManagement Programme, which have engaged the attention of the country as a whole, notmuch emphasis has been given, even though they demand priority. The Committee feelsthat most of the Heritage, Tourist centres are facing a huge problem of pollution due toincrease in domestic and foreign tourist influx. The Committee fails to understand as tohow the Ministry will manage to tackle the problem, with such meager budgetary provisionsof Rs. 0.01 crore and hopes that in future the Ministry would take up such casesemphatically with the Planning Commission. (Para 3.1)

2. The Committee notes that the Ministry has attributed the reasons for the shortfallin utilization of outlays which are procedural, such as delay in release of matching grantsby the State Government /forest departments, time lag in release of funds by the Ministryand actual availability of funds to the implementing agencies, delays in receipt of proposals,submission of utilisation certificate, revalidation of unspent balances, completion of worksetc. The Committee notes that the aforesaid reasons stated by the Ministry are routine innature and mostly relate to procedural and administrative mechanisms, which need to beovercome and avoided in future by fine-tuning the procedures involved. (Para 6.3)

3. The Committee notes that priority in fund allocation has been accorded to ongoingschemes, leading to lower allocation for new schemes. The Committee is aware that giventhe resource constraint, the need to accord priority to ongoing schemes is genuine. However,the Committee is constrained to observe that with such low allocations, it would not bepossible to pursue the new schemes with full strength. The new schemes which are proposedby the Ministry are in keeping with the new demand for conservation of the environment/wildlife in general and, therefore, should not lag behind due to paucity of funds. TheCommittee feels that the Ministry should take up the issue of more fund allocation at R.E.stage for new schemes, with the Planning Commission, in right earnest and impress uponthem the need for such higher allocation, indicating the seriousness of the Ministry toachieve its new goals. (Para 7.1)

4. The Committee expresses its serious concern over the fact that though from thetime of its initiation, crores have been spent on the Ganga Action Plan, there has not beenmuch improvement in water quality in reality, despite the claims of the Ministry. Thepractice of dumping untreated sewage from cities on the banks of the Ganga and deadbodies and carcasses in the river continues unabated causing pollution. The Committee feelsthat the project has suffered due to apathy and lack of a suitable system in place tomonitor the implementation. (Para 8.6)

5. The Committee also expresses its concern at the fact that there has been marginalreduction in allocation due to slow progress of works in the Yamuna Action Plan in thethree States of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, despite the fact that water qualityremains below the acceptable norms. Industrial and domestic sewage discharge and open

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defecation continues, despite various legislations to control and stop the pollution levels.The Committee also expresses its concern at the fact that though there has been no dearthof funds for the Yamuna Action Plan, no satisfactory results have been achieved as regardscleaning of the river, which provides drinking water to Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradeshand the river has infact turned into a dirty drain. (Para 8.7)

6. The Committee also expresses its concern at the fact that no proper mechanism hasbeen created towards recharging the Yamuna river. The Committee recommends that aproper system be set up for recharging the river by creating man-made water bodies likereservoirs and catchment areas, which can store the monsoon water, which usually goes intodrains and then stored water can be released into the river during the lean season.

(Para 8.8)

7. The Committee feels that there is a urgent need to pin-point the reasons for thefailure of such major projects and to take urgent steps towards rectifying the problemareas. The Committee also recommends that to make the projects result oriented, theMinistry should take stringent action against officials who are found lacking in terms ofdeliverance and penal action be taken against the defaulters for violating of legislations.

(Para 8.9)

8. The Committee further recommends that the Ministry should develop a propercoordination mechanism with the agencies/departments/Ministries involved in cleaning upthe river Yamuna and Ganga to solve the problem. The research activities of the scientificdepartments with regard to treatment and waste management may be put to optimum useto prevent pollution of rivers and lakes in the country. (Para 8.10)

9. The Committee notes with concern that an amount of Rs.35.00 crores has beendiverted from such a significant scheme like National River ConservationProgramme(NRCP), to an non-critical area viz. the expenditure on establishment relatedmatters. This points towards the lackadaisical approach of the Ministry towards the problemof river and lake water pollution across the country, though the pollution levels continuesto rise at an alarming level. (Para 8.11)

10. The Committee notes that the name of the programme 'Integrated Forest ProtectionScheme' has been changed to 'Intensification of Forest Management' , with broadly thesame objectives as the earlier programme with the addition of only two new components.The Committee fails to decipher the logic behind simply changing the nomenclature of theprogramme and feels that unless there is a will and resolve to do something concrete, merechange in the name would not result in any substantial gain. The new components that havebeen added now, could be accommodated even within the ambit of the earlier scheme, withslight modifications/additions. (Para 9.6)

11. The Committee while noting that in the past, even sugarcane fields were counted asforest cover, recommends that the methodology of assessing the green cover needs to bemodified and the latest satellite imaging techniques along with extensive ground truth crosschecking, should be used to distinguish the actual forest cover from other tall crops and tocorrectly estimate the actual area under forest, since correct data assessment is essentialfor proper policy formulation and follow up action. (Para 9.7)

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12. The Committee expresses its concern at the fact that even though the Ministryintends to achieve the target of 33% of forest cover by 2012, the only scheme that treatsafforestation in a holistic manner and seeks to involve the communities and the society ingeneral in the preservation and conservation of forests has been deprived of funds. TheCommittee notes with concern that the modalities for the scheme-Panchayat Van Yojana,are yet to be worked out with the Panchayats and feels that the Ministry should have donethe ground work for the scheme well before launching this programme so as to ensureutilisation of funds and successful implementation of the scheme. (Para 10.9)

13. The Committee recommends that Ministry should formulate an effective strategy tocreate mass awareness about afforestation among poor people and tribal communities, whodepend on forests in different ways as it may, in turn not only increase forest cover butwould also provide better opportunity, empowerment, livelihood and security to them.

(Para 10.10)

14. The Committee feels that to deal with the issue of conservation and preservation ofenvironment, in a broad perspective, the younger generation should be made fully aware ofthe environmental concerns that are engaging the attention of the country and world atlarge. Though the Ministry has been doing a commendable job in promoting environmentaleducation by imparting non-formal education at the primary and secondary school level andin colleges and universities, the Committee, however, feels that there is a greater need tostress upon the system of formal education, by including the environmental concepts in theschools/colleges/universities curriculum itself. In this direction the Committee recommendsthat the Ministry’s proposal to enhance financial assistance to the States for training ofschool teachers for effective transaction of environment education curriculum in the schoolunder the component of strengthening environment education in school, should be given toppriority. Effort should also be made to recognize schools that go green by banning use ofplastic bags, etc. thereby sensitizing children towards environment and environment issues.

(Para 11.5)

15. The Committee notes with concern that the budgetary support for the CentralPollution Control Board (CPCB) has been decreased substantially, despite the fact that it isa premier central agency responsible for control and prevention of pollution, and pollutioncontinues to rise unabated across the country. The Committee is also constrained to notethat the responsibility and the funds for the civic infrastructure projects, for controllingurban pollution, hitherto funded under NRCP, has been transferred to the schemes likeJawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and Urban InfrastructureDevelopment Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSMT) under the Ministry of UrbanDevelopment and the funds under CPCB has been reduced. (Para 12.3)

16. The Committee also notes that the allocation under the Promotion of CentralEffluent Treatment Plants (CETP) has been only marginally increased from Rs.4.00 croresin R.E. 2007-08 to Rs.4.45 crores in B.E. 2008-09 and expresses it concern that the CETPswhich are an essential component in the treatment of industrial and domestic sewage, hasbeen allocated lesser funds. The Committee strongly recommends that the Ministry shouldseriously look into the issue of polluting industries, which discharge their effluents directlyinto river and lakes. It also recommends that the Ministry may think in terms of takingsome harsh measures like imposing heavy penalties and issuing closure notices to such

20

Industrial setups, if they fail to install the requisite effluent treatment plants within aspecified time. (Para 12.4)

17. The Committee notes the constitution of the National Tiger ConservationAuthority (NCTA) for conservation of tigers in the country, the population of which isdeclining due to unabated poaching. The Committee expresses its concern at the fact thatthough anti-poaching legislations have been in force since 1972, the country has seen asteady decline in the population of tigers, which lead to the intervention at the PrimeMinisterial level. These point towards the failure of the Ministry in ground implementationof existing legislations. The Committee expresses its doubts as to whether the Ministrywould be able to check the decline in the number of tigers, just by renaming the alreadyexisting schemes. The Committee, therefore, recommends that initiative for wildlifeprotection should be taken up by the Ministry with full vigour and resolve, so that it doesnot remain a mere legislation on paper. (Para 13.9)

18. The Committee expresses concern over the general apathy, that the Ministry hasshown towards implementation of legislations regarding forest conservation, protection ofwildlife etc. and recommends that the legislations may be forcefully enforced to prevent anyfurther degradation of environment. In this direction the Ministry should take into accountthe man-animal conflict that the country is currently facing due to pressure of developmentand encroachment of forest land. The Committee welcomes the increase of the funds forrelocation of families from the tiger habitat to the periphery, from Rs. l lakh toRs. 10.00 lakhs and recommends that the Ministry make concerted efforts towardsexpediting the relocation of families, and ensuring peaceful co-existence of both man andanimals. (Para 13.10)

19. The Committee expresses its concern that a large number of vacancies, both in theCentre and States have yet not been filled up. The Committee had last year expressed itsconcern over this matter. Filling of the vacancies in the posts of forests wardens and forestguards are of prime importance for the implementation of the legislations regarding forestconservation and animal protection; the State governments are lagging behind in the fillingof a large number of vacancies at these levels. The Committee recommends that theMinistry should vigorously pursue the fIlling up of posts with the State governments andmonitor the filling up of vacancies, besides filling up of vacancies at the Central Level.

(Para 13.11)

20. The Committee further recommends that Ministry should adopt a strategy towardscontrolling supply of wildlife and its products to both domestic as well as internationalmarkets. The control would not only require strengthening human but also enhancedtechnical surveillance; web patrolling; media watch; creation of crime data bank;strengthening/capacity building of enforcement and prosecution process; life style/livelihoodissues of communities subsisting on wildlife, etc. The Ministry should also embark on astrategy of creating awareness amongst the international buyers; using bilateral andmultilateral mechanisms in trade; international trade regulatory mechanisms and otherforeign policy measures to reduce the demand. (Para 13.12)

21. The Committee recommends that the Ministry of Environment and Forests shouldseriously pursue the stakeholders-municipalities, corporations, etc., to use thesetechnologies which besides being environment friendly have a number of advantages over

21

the conventional means like incinerations, landfills, dumping in the sea or other water-bodies, composting, etc. The Ministry should ensure that such sewage treatment plants areintegrated/installed at least in Delhi, Kanpur and other cities along with the Yamuna andthe Ganga which have virtually turned the river into a nallah by dumping untreated sewage.The Committee also recommends that action in this regard be taken on priority in a time-bound manner. (Para 14.2)

22. After considering the Demands for Grants of the Ministry of Environmentand Forests and assessing the progress of various important programmes andprojects administered by it, the Committee recommends that the budgetary allocation ofRs. 1707.00 crores, as sought by the Ministry for the year 2008-09, under Demand No. 29,may be approved. (Para 15)

MINUTES

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25

XIVFOURTEENTH MEETING

The Committee met at 03.00 P.M. on Monday, the 24th March, 2008 in Committee Room‘A’, Ground Floor, Parliament House Annexe, New Delhi.

PRESENT

1. Dr. V. Maitreyan — Chairman

RAJYA SABHA

2. Shri Bhagirathi Majhi

3. Shri Kamal Akhtar

4. Shri Jabir Husain

5. Dr. Barun Mukherjee

LOK SABHA

6. Shri Thupstan Chhewang

7. Shri Francis Fanthome

8. Shri Brahmananda Panda

9. Shrimati Neeta Pateriya

10. Shri Pratik P. Patil

SECRETARIAT

Shrimati Agnes Momin George, Joint Secretary

Shri S. Jason, Joint Director

Shri V.S.P. Singh, Deputy Director

Shri S. Rangarajan, Assistant Director

REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES

1. Ms. Meena Gupta, Secretary (E&F)

2. Shri R.H. Khwaja, Additional Secretary

3. Shri J.M. Mauskar, Additional Secretary

4. Shri K.B. Thampi, Inspector General Forests

5. Shri A.N. Prasad, Inspector General Forests

6. Shri G.K. Prasad, Additional Director General of Forests

7. Shri B.P. Nilratna, Joint Secretary

8. Shri A.K. Goyal, Joint Secretary

9. Dr. B. Sengupta, Member Secretary, CPCB

10. Dr. Rajesh Gopal, Member Secretary (NTCA)

11. Dr. G.K. Pandey, Adviser

12. Dr. M. Sengupta, Adviser

13. Shri R.S. Ahlawat, Economic Adviser

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14. Dr. Nalini Bhatt, Adviser

15. Dr. G.V. Subramaniam, Adviser

16. Shri Manoj Sethi, Controllor of Accounts

17. Shri R. Mehta, Adviser

2. At the outset, the Chairman welcomed the Secretary and other officials of the Ministryof Environment and Forests and requested the Secretary to make a presentation on Demands forGrants (2008-09) of the Ministry. Thereafter, the Secretary made a visual presentation regarding themajor activities formulated for the year 2008-09 and achievements of the Ministry during theyear 2007-08. She also mentioned about the budgetary allocations under different heads as also thefunctioning of the Ministry. Thereafter, Members sought clarifications on the points that emergedout of the presentation. The Secretary replied to them.

The officials then withdrew.

A verbatim record of the proceedings was kept.

3. The Committee then adjourned at 4.50 P.M. to meet again at 11.00 A.M. on Tuesday, the25th March, 2008.

27

XXTWENTIETH MEETING

The Committee met at 3.00 P.M. on Wednesday, the 23rd April, 2008 in Room No. ‘139’,First Floor, Parliament House Annexe, New Delhi.

PRESENT

1. Dr. V. Maitreyan — Chairman

RAJYA SABHA

2. Shri Bhagirathi Majhi

3. Shri Saman Pathak

4. Shri Jabir Husain

5. Dr. Barun Mukherjee

6. Shri D. Raja

LOK SABHA

7. Dr. Sujan Chakraborty

8. Shri Thupstan Chhewang

9. Shri Francis Fanthome

10. Shri A. Venkatesh Naik

11. Shrimati Jayaben B. Thakkar

12. Shri Sita Ram Yadav

SECRETARIAT

Shrimati Agnes Momin George, Joint Secretary

Shri S. Jason, Joint Director

Shri V.S.P. Singh, Deputy Director

Shri S. Rangarajan, Assistant Director

2. The Committee took-up for consideration its draft *** 188th, *** *** Reports on theDemands for Grants (2008-2009) pertaining to the ***; *** Ministry of ***, Environment andForests, ***, ***, ***, respectively.

3. * * *

4. The Committee decided to present all the seven reports (185th to 191st) on 29th April, 2008in both the Houses of Parliament. The Committee authorized its Chairman and in his absenceDr. Barun Mukherjee to present the reports in Rajya Sabha and to lay the copies of the reportson the Table of Lok Sabha by Dr. Sujan Chakraborty and in his absence by Shri Francis Fanthome.

5. The Committee then adjourned at 3.35 P.M.

*** Relates to other matters.

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