Parliament of India Rajya Sabha Demands for Grants (2015-2016) of the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (D
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PARLIAMENT OF INDIA RAJYA SABHA DEPARTMENT-RELATED PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, ENVIRONMENT & FORESTS TWO HUNDRED FIFTY FOURTH REPORT DEMANDS FOR GRANTS (2015-2016) OF THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FORESTS & CLIMATE CHANGE (DEMAND NO. 32) th (Presented to the Rajya Sabha on 27 April, 2015) (Laid on the Table of Lok Sabha on 27th April, 2015) (Presented to the Rajya Sabha on ______________, 2013) (Laid on the Table of Lok Sabha on _____________, 2013) Rajya Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi April, 2015/ Vaisakha, 1937 (Saka) Website : http://rajyasabha.nic.in Email: [email protected] 1 PARLIAMENT OF INDIA RAJYA SABHA DEPARTMENT-RELATED PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, ENVIRONMENT & FORESTS TWO HUNDRED FIFTY FOURTH REPORT DEMANDS FOR GRANTS (2015-2016) OF THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FORESTS & CLIMATE CHANGE (DEMAND NO. 32) th (Presented to the Rajya Sabha on 27 April, 2015) (Laid on the Table of Lok Sabha on 27th April, 2015) Rajya Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi April, 2015/ Vaisakha, 1937 (Saka) 2 C O N T E N T S PAGES 1. COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITTEE (i) – (ii) 2. PREFACE (iii) 3. ACRONYMS 4. REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ●5. SUMMARY OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS ●6. MINUTES OF THE MEETINGS OF THE COMMITTEE ●7. INDEX OF REPORTS COMPOSITION OF THE DEPARTMENT-RELATED PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, ENVIRONMENT & FORESTS (2015-16) ---------- 1. Shri Ashwani Kumar –– Chairman RAJYA SABHA 2. Shri Anil Madhav Dave 3. Shri Prem Chand Gupta 4. Shri C.P. Narayanan 5. Shri Paul Manoj Pandian 6. Dr. T. Subbarami Reddy 7. Shri Arvind Kumar Singh 8. Shri Bhupinder Singh 9. Shrimati Bimla Kashyap Sood 10. Shri Ronald Sapa Tlau LOK SABHA 11. Shri Badruddin Ajmal 12. Shri Muzaffar Hussain Beig 13. Shrimati Bijoya Chakravarty 14. Shri Pankaj Chaudhary 15. Shri Prabhatsinh Pratapsinh Chauhan 16. Kum. Sushmita Dev 17. Shri Ninong Ering 18. Shri Laxman Giluwa 19. Dr. K. Gopal 20. Shri Daddan Mishra 21. Shri Shivaji Adhalrao Patil 22. Shri Nana Patole 23. Shri Nagendra Kumar Pradhan 24. Shri Harinarayan Rajbhar 25. Shrimati Sandhya Roy 26. Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh 27. Shri Nagendra Singh 28. Shrimati Renuka Sinha ● To be appended at printing stage 3 29. Shri Vikram Usendi 30. Shrimati Vasanthi M. *31. Shri Chirag Paswan ____________________ SECRETARIAT Shri M.K. Khan, Joint Secretary Shri Rohtas, Director Shri V.S.P. Singh, Joint Director Shri Rajiv Saxena, Assistant Director * Nominated w.e.f. 25th March, 2015. Preface I, the Chairman of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology, Environment & Forests, having been authorised by the Committee to present the Report on its behalf, present this Two Hundred Fifty-fourth Report of the Committee. This Report deals with the detailed Demands for Grants (2015-2016) of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (Demand No. 32). 2. In the meeting of the Committee held on the 30th March, 2015, the Secretary and other Officers of the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change gave an overview of the various activities of the Ministry and the Members sought clarifications on various aspects of the performance of the Ministry to enable it to scrutinise the Demands for Grants. 3. The Committee expresses its thanks to the Officers of the Ministry for replying to the clarifications sought by the Members and placing before it the required material to enable the Committee to scrutinise the Demands for Grants of the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change. 4. The Committee considered and adopted the Report at its meeting held on the 23rd April, 2015. NEW DELHI; ASHWANI KUMAR April 23, 2015 Chairman, Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology, Environment & Forests. ACRONYMS AWBI : Animal Welfare Board of India; BSI : Botanical Survey of India; CEMP : Comprehensive Environmental Management Plan; CEPI : Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index; CETP : Common Effluent Treatment Plants; CFL : Compact Florescent Lamp; CPCB : Central Pollution Control Board; CSD : Commission on Sustainable Development; CSIR : Council of Scientific and Industrial Research; CSS : Centrally Sponsored Schemes; CZA : Central Zoo Authority; DST : Department of Science & Technology; EFC : Expenditure Finance Commission; EIA : Environment Impact Assessment; 4 EPR : Extended Producer Responsibility; ESCAP : Economic and Social Council for Asia and Pacific; FSI : Forest Survey of India; GBPIHED : G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment & Development; GDP : Gross Domestic Product; GEF : Global Environment Facility; GIM : Green India Mission; ICAR : Indian Council of Agricultural Research; ICFRE : Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education; ICIMOD : International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development; ICMR : Indian Council of Medical Research; ICNIRP : International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection; ICSSR : Indian Council of Social Science Research; IGNFA : Indira Gandhi National Forestry Academy; IIFM : Indian Institute of Forest Management; IPIRTI : Indian Plywood Industries Research and Training Institute; JFM : Joint Forest Management; JNNURM : Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission; MANREGA: Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme; MLD : Million Liter Per day; MSW : Municipal Solid Waste; NAAQ : National Ambient Air Quality; NAP : National Afforestation Programme; NBA : National Biodiversity Authority; NCEF : National Clean Energy Fund; NCMP : National Coastal Management Plan; NEERI : National Environmental Engineering Research Institute; NGRBA : National Ganga River Basin Authority; NIAW : National Institute of Animal Welfare; NMNH : National Museum of Natural History; NRCD : National River Conservation Directorate; NRCP : National River Conservation Plan; NTCA : National Tiger Conservation Authority; NTFP : Non-Timber Forest Produce; NWQMP : National Water Quality Monitoring Programme; PCC : Pollution Control Committee; PUFAs : Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acids; SAARC : South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation; SACEP : South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme; SAFAR : System of Air Quality, Weather Forecasting and Research; SFSRC : State Forest Service and Rangers College; SPCB : State Pollution Control Board; STP : Sewage Treatment Plant; 5 TPD : Tonnes Per Day; UC : Utilisation Certificate; UGC : University Grants Commission; UNCED : United Nations Conference on Environment and Development; UNEP : United Nations Environment Programme; WCCB : Wildlife Crime Control Bureau; WII : Wildlife Institute of India; ZSI : Zoological Survey of India. REPORT Environment and Forests, it is commonly understood, are inexhaustible natural endowments which have the capability to serve, support and sustain living beings on the earth in eternity and in perpetuity notwithstanding the tendency to over exploit our natural resources and the environment. Such a complacency in understanding and insouciance in approach is sure to invite not only certain but also imminent disaster. There is no gainsaying the fact that environment and forests refresh, recharge, reinvigorate, rejuvenate and regenerate the environment and that capability is not unlimited and infinite. Mother earth has enough to support our needs but not enough to satisfy our greed. These words of our founding fathers should guide our approach to dealing with environmental issues inextricably connected with our inclusive and sustainable development agenda. 2. As per the Living Plant Report, 2014, the data collected in terms of ecological footprint (which is suggestive of the pressure human activities put on ecosystems) vis-à-vis bio-capacity (a measure of the capacity of systems to produce useful biological materials and to absorb waste materials generated by humans) the world is living in a situation of ecological overshoot, i.e., the ecological footprint being larger than the bio-capacity. In 2010, the global ecological footprint was 18.1 billion global hectares (gha) or 2.6 gha per capita while the earth’s total bio-capacity was only 12 billion gha or 1.7 gha per capita. Thus, we are running in a deficit of 6.1 billion global hectares (gha) or 0.9 gha per capita. Moderate UN scenarios suggest that if current population and consumption trends continue, by 2030s, we will need the equivalent of two earths to support us. 3. But this data may not necessarily hold good in respect of India because bio- capacity is not spread evenly around the world. Despite the fact that the low income countries have the smallest ecological footprint, they suffer the greatest ecosystem losses. For India, environmental challenges are far more formidable, it being home to 18 per cent of world’s population, 15 per cent of livestock population and 7–8 per cent of all recorded species in only 2.3 per cent of the land area and with 1.7 per cent of world’s forest. 4. The situation is indeed grave. According to various projections by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change extreme heat events are likely to be longer and more intense in addition to changes in precipitation patterns. The 6 change in climate could affect the production of wheat, rice, and maize in the tropical and temperate zones; have negative impact on health exacerbating health problems that already exist especially in developing countries and adversely impact productive activities like growing food and working outdoors. 5. Inklings of some of the projections have started manifesting in India in the form of devastating natural