Question raised in Lok Sabha on Pending Projects, 09/08/2016. A list of 17 projects for Environment Clearance (EC) and 2 projects for Forest Clearance (FC) from North Eastern States, including Arunachal Pradesh, pending in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is annexed.

Question raised in Lok Sabha on Mines in Forest Area, 09/08/2016. Details of Mining projects for different minerals approved for diversion of forest land from 1980 to July, 2016 in the country is at Annexure –I. The production /extraction of metals from the mines damages dense forest. In lieu of forest diverted, the user agency give equal non-forest area and get it mutated in favour of forest department prior to commencement of mining in forest land. The area is planted under compensatory afforestation scheme at the cost of user agency.

Question raised in Lok Sabha on Forest Cover, 09/08/2016. Forest Survey of India, Dehradun is carrying out the assessment of forest cover of the country biennially and the findings are published in India State of Forest Report. The latest report in the series is India State of Forest Report 2015. As per this report, the total forest cover of the country is 7, 01,673 square kilometers which is 21.34% of the total geographical area of the country. The detailed list showing forest cover and change in forest cover States/UTs wise is given in Annexure I.

Question raised in Lok Sabha on Ecological Impact of Mining, 09/08/2016. The forest land diverted has not caused ecological imbalance. Since the enactment of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. the forest land diverted for non-forest use including mining purposes is on average approximately 25,000 Ha per year. The forest alnd diverted from October 1980 to date, State/UT-wise including Karnataka is given in Annexure -I. Non forestry activities including mining invariably have an impact on the environment and ecological balance.