Question raised in Lok Sabha on Development Projects near Wildlife Habitats, 22/12/2017. Census of elephant is undertaken at the national level once in every five years. State-wise/UTs wise and region wise comparative estimated population of elephants of 2012 and 2017 as available in the Ministry are given in Annexure-I.

Question raised in Lok Sabha on Conservation of Biodiversity, 22/12/2017. Conservation and development of biodiversity in the country, including Himalayan region is undertaken inter alia through establishment of National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries, notified Reserved Forest areas, designation of Biosphere Reserves, identification of ecologically fragile areas such as wetlands, biodiversity heritage sites and notification of eco-sensitive zones. So far, 37 National Parks, 122 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 7 Biosphere Reserves have been designated by Government of India in the Himalayan region.

Question raised in Lok Sabha on Compensation to Displaced Families, 22/12/2017. Funding assistance for voluntary village relocation from notified core/critical tiger habitat of a tiger reserve and other Protected Areas on receipt of requests from the state Governments is provided under Centrally Sponsored Scheme of ‘Project Tiger’ and ‘Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats’. Details of compensation paid for the voluntary village relocation under these Centrally Sponsored Schemes during last three years and current year is at Annexure-I.

Question raised in Lok Sabha on Adulteration in Food Items, 22/12/2017. Cases of adulteration, including use of harmful chemicals in food items, do come to the notice of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) from time to time. The Food Safety Officers in the States/UTs take food samples on regular basis and send them for analysis in the food laboratories to check the compliance of the provisions of Food Safety

Global production of major wood products surged in 2016 for the seventh consecutive year with a growth rate of three to six percent, according to new data published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. The fastest increase in major wood products (industrial roundwood, sawnwood, wood-based panels, wood pellets) occurred in Asia-Pacific, Northern America and Europe driven by positive economic growth, new manufacturing capacities in Eastern Europe, particularly for particleboard and Oriented Strand Board (OSB), as well as growing demand for bioenergy.

Question raised in Lok Sabha on Generation of Solar and Wind Power, 21/12/2017. State-wise details of solar and wind power generation during each of the last three years and the current year are given in the Annexure.

Question raised in Lok Sabha on Generation of Electricity from Municipal Solid Wastes, 21/12/2017. At present, six waste-to-energy plants using Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), with a cumulative installed capacity of 65.75 MW are in operation in the country. The State-wise details of MSW based power projects, set up as on 30.11.2017, are given in Annexure-I.

Question raised in Lok Sabha on Fluoride in Drinking Water, 21/12/2017. State / UT-wise number of fluoride affected habitations with population, as reported by the States into Integrated Management Information System
(IMIS) of the Ministry as on 15th December, 2017 is at Annexure.

Question raised in Lok Sabha on Contaminated Drinking Water, 21/12/2017. State / UT-wise number of fluoride, arsenic, iron, nitrate, salinity & heavy metals affected habitations including Bihar and West Bengal States, as reported by the States into Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) of the Ministry as on 19th December, 2017 is at Annexure-I. State / UT-wise number of habitations in the category of fully covered, partially covered and quality affected, as reported by the states into IMIS of the Ministry as on 19th December,2017 is at Annexure-II.

Question raised in Lok Sabha on Artificial Recharge to Ground Water, 21/12/2017. Statewise Rural and Urban Artificial Recharge Structures as proposed in Master Plan are given at Annexure – I. During assessment year 2013, out of 6584 assessment units in the country, 1034 (15.7%) assessment units are categorized as “Over-Exploited”, whereas during assessment year 2011, the respective figures were 6607 and 1071 (16.2%). State-wise details are given at Annexure – II.