India’s Forest cover up by 1%- Environment Minister

Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister for Environment informed the Lok Sabha that India’s forest cover has increased by 1% in last one year period and over 24.39% of India’s geographical area now constitutes of green cover.

Key Highlights

Disputed Facts: Ms. Maneka Gandhi, BJP’s Member of Parliament disputed the fact presented by Environment Minister and cautioned him that satellite imagery could be misleading as it might have mistaken sugar cane crops for trees.

Response:

During Question Hour, Mr. Javadekar responded to supplementaries by stating-

For every one tree chopped for reason of development work, 3-4 were planted either in same area or elsewhere.

The satellite imagery were taken at regular intervals which rules out such inconsistencies and makes it highly unlikely that sugar cane crops were counted in forest cover.

As per a latest report, more than 24.39% of India’s geographical area now constitutes of green cover and government further plans to plant 125 crore trees along highways to increase green cover.

What is Question Hour?

It refers to 1st hour of Lok Sabha’s sitting session, which is devoted to questions that Members of Parliament (MPs) raise about any aspect of administrative activity.

The concerned Minister (to whom question is raised) is obliged to answer to Parliament, either orally or in writing, depending on type of question raised.

Month: Current Affairs - June, 2019