Parliament Question: Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3461 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.08.2025 Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu

3461. THIRU D M KATHIR ANAND:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to

state:

(a) whether the natural forest cover is depleting over the last decade and if so, the status of forest cover in the country and the funds allocated during the last five years, State/UT- wise;

(b) the steps taken by the Government to notify various Wildlife Sanctuaries as big cat reserves in view of the reports of leopard and tiger sightings and habitations;

(c) whether the State Governments have approached the Central Government in this regard, if so, the response of the Government thereto; and

(d) whether the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has accorded any proposal for creation of new tiger reserves in Tamil Nadu, if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

(a) Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun, an organization under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, carries out the assessment of forest and tree cover of the country biennially and the findings are published in the India State of Forest Report (ISFR). The forest cover assessment is a wall-to-wall mapping exercise based on remote sensing supported by intensive ground verification and field data from the National Forest Inventory.

As per ISFR 2023, the forest cover of the country is 7,15,342.61 square kilometer which is 21.76% of the total geographical area of the country. In the last ten years, the forest cover of the country has increased from 6,98,712.36 square kilometer to 7,15,342.61 square kilometer. Thus there has been an increase of 16,630.25 square kilometer in the forest cover of the country between ISFR 2013 and ISFR 2023.

The State/UT wise details of the forest cover during last ten years is given in Annexure-I.

The protection, conservation and management of forest is primarily the responsibility of the State Governments/Union Territory Administrations. There are legal frameworks for the protection and management of forest of the country which include, the Indian Forest Act, 1927; the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980; the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and the State Forest Acts and Rules. Further, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and ClimateChange issues advisories to State Governments/UT Administrations to protect forest and trees.

The Ministry provides technical and financial support to the States /UTs for protection, conservation and management of the forests in the country. The funds

provided under the various schemes support the efforts of States and Union Territories to enhance forest and tree cover through ecological restoration measures such as afforestation within and outside forest areas, forest landscape restoration, habitat improvement, soil and water conservation, protection activities, and other related interventions.

This includes funds from the Central Government under various schemes and programmes such as National Mission for a Green India (GIM), Forest Fire Prevention and Management Scheme (FPM), Nagar Van Yojana (NVY), Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats, and Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes (MISHTI). The state-wise funds released by the Central Government under above schems during the last five years are given in Annexure-II(a)to(e).

Further, a plantation campaign “एक पेड़ माँ के नाम #Plant4Mother” has been launched on the occasion of World Environment Day 2024 and in the current year also to undertake plantation activities across the country. This campaign follows the “Whole of Government” and “Whole of Society” approach with participation of all stakeholders for increasing the green cover in the country. The campaign has contributed large scale plantation aiding the enhancement of green cover in the country.

(b)to(d) The proposals received from the State Governments have been considered as per provisions of the Section 38V of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. The National Tiger Conservation Authority under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has given in-principle approval to Sunabeda and Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuaries in the State of Odisha; Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary in the State of Bihar; Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary in the Sate of Rajasthan; Malai Mahadeshwara Hills Wildlife Sanctuary in the State of Karnataka, and Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary in the State of Arunachal Pradesh for notification as a Tiger Reserve.

No such proposal has been received from the State Government of Tamil Nadu. ***Annexure-I Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3461 due for answer on 11.08.2025 regarding Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu asked by Thiru D M Kathir Anand State/UT wise details of decadal change in Forest Cover between 2013 and 2023 as per ISFR 2023 (In square kilometer) Sl.No. State/UT Forest Cover Forest Cover Decadal Change in

(2013) (2023) Forest Cover between 2013 & 2023 1 Andhra Pradesh 26,043.53 30,084.96 4,041.43 2 Arunachal Pradesh 66,966.09 65,881.57 -1,084.52 3 Assam 27,564.90 28,313.55 748.65 4 Bihar 7,283.55 7,532.45 248.90 5 Chhattisgarh 55,606.96 55,811.75 204.79 6 Delhi 180.32 195.28 14.96 7 Goa 2,219.00 2,265.72 46.72 8 Gujarat 14,507.77 15,016.64 508.87 9 Haryana 1,583.38 1,614.26 30.88 10 Himachal Pradesh 14,683.00 15,580.35 897.35 11 Jharkhand 23,815.38 23,765.78 -49.60 12 Karnataka 36,170.68 39,254.27 3,083.59 13 Kerala 18,383.95 22,059.36 3,675.41 14 Madhya Pradesh 77,522.00 77,073.44 -448.56 15 Maharashtra 50,632.00 50,858.53 226.53 16 Manipur 16,961.16 16,585.46 -375.70 17 Meghalaya 17,241.48 16,966.84 -274.64 18 Mizoram 18,978.16 17,990.46 -987.70 19 Nagaland 13,017.35 12,222.47 -794.88 20 Odisha 50,544.71 52,433.56 1,888.85 21 Punjab 1,790.78 1,846.09 55.31 22 Rajasthan 16,086.00 16,548.21 462.21 23 Sikkim 3,358.00 3,358.40 0.40 24 Tamil Nadu 24,245.21 26,450.22 2,205.01 25 Telangana 19,956.62 21,179.04 1,222.42 26 Tripura 7,948.65 7,584.77 -363.88 27 Uttar Pradesh 14,359.72 15,045.80 686.08 28 Uttarakhand 24,508.00 24,303.83 -204.17 29 West Bengal 1,7101.98 16,832.33 -269.65 30 A&N Islands 6,711.00 6,732.92 21.92 31 Chandigarh 17.26 25.00 7.74 32 Dadra & Nagar 219.96 225.62 5.66 Haveli and Daman & Diu 33 Jammu & Kashmir 20,948.27 21,346.39 398.12 34 Ladakh 1,478.00 2,285.92 807.92 35 Lakshadweep 27.02 27.06 0.04 36 Puducherry 50.52 44.31 -6.21 Grand Total 6,98,712.36 7,15,342.61 16,630.25 ***Annexure-II(a) Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.

3461 due for answer on 11.08.2025 regarding Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu asked by Thiru D M Kathir Anand State-wise details of funds released under the Green India Mission during the last five years (2020-21 to 2024-25) (Rs. In Crores) Total Funds released Sl. No. States 1 Andhra Pradesh 2.02 2 Arunachal Pradesh 34.71 3 Chhattisgarh 7.88 4 Haryana 47.73 5 Himachal Pradesh 17.09 6 Jammu & Kashmir 36.72 7 Karnataka 17.05 8 Kerala - 9 Madhya Pradesh 68.44 10 Maharashtra - 11 Manipur 31.03 12 Mizoram 90.25 13 Odisha 64.82 14 Punjab 11.44 15 Sikkim 36.28 16 Uttarakhand 147.38 17 West Bengal 1.52 18 Uttar Pradesh 5.43 Total 619.79Annexure-II(b) Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.

3461 due for answer on 11.08.2025 regarding Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu asked by Thiru D M Kathir Anand Details of fund released to State/UT’s under Centrally Sponsored Forest Fire Prevention & Management Scheme (FPM) during the year 2020-21 to 2024-25 (Rs in Lakh) S. No. States/UTs Funds released 1 Andhra Pradesh 289.41 2 Arunachal Pradesh 672.13 3 Assam 0 4 Bihar 416.41 5 Chhattisgarh 292.45 6 Gujarat 616.84 7 Goa 76.175 8 Haryana 17.52 9 Himachal Pradesh 615.215 10 Jharkhand 466.23 11 Karnataka 633.67 12 Kerala 1264.16 13 Madhya Pradesh 2253.84 14 Maharashtra 1425.44 15 M anipur 708.83 16 Meghalaya 211.04 17 Mizoram 357.59 18 Nagaland 568.49 19 Odisha 1917.22 20 Punjab 47.52 21 Rajasthan 308.56 22 Sikkim 288.715 23 Tripura 252.725 24 Tamil Nadu 739.24 25 Telangana 369.56 26 Uttar Pradesh 340.84 27 Uttarakhand 971.2 28 West Bengal 211.56 29 A & N Islands 60 30 Chandigarh 55.69 31 D&N Haveli and Daman 0 & Diu 32 Jammu & Kashmir 0 33 Lakshadweep 0 34 Delhi 0 35 Puducherry 43.4 36 Ladakh 0 Grand Total 16491.67Annexure-II(c) Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.

3461 due for answer on 11.08.2025 regarding Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu asked by Thiru D M Kathir Anand State/UT-wise details of funds released for the projects under Nagar Van Yojana in last five years (Rs in crores) Total funds S.No. State/UT released 1 Andaman & Nicobar 0.56 2 Andhra Pradesh 99.14 3 Arunachal Pradesh 0.80 4 Assam 1.70 5 Bihar 4.42 6 Chandigarh 0.13 7 Chhattisgarh 6.90 8 Goa 2.05 9 Gujarat 7.43 10 Haryana 4.49 11 Himachal Pradesh 4.86 12 Jammu & Kashmir 15.09 13 Jharkhand 18.11 14 Karnataka 22.15 15 Kerala 9.50 16 Madhya Pradesh 55.23 17 Maharashtra 5.09 18 Manipur 1.44 19 Meghalaya 2.43 20 Mizoram 21.72 21 Nagaland 21.97 22 Odisha 18.71 23 Punjab 5.94 24 Rajasthan 26.88 25 Sikkim 10.86 26 Tamil Nadu 12.23 27 Telangana 24.73 28 Tripura 5.05 29 Uttar Pradesh 29.13 30 Uttarakhand 2.90 31 West Bengal 2.77 Total 444.43Annexure-II(d) Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.

3461 due for answer on 11.08.2025 regarding Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu asked by Thiru D M Kathir Anand Details of funds released to State/ UT Government under CSS-‘Development of Wildlife Habitats’ during last five years (Rs in lakhs) S.No. Name of States/UTs Total funds released 1 A& N Islands 160.89 2 Andhra Pradesh 0 3 Arunachal Pradesh 2726.1 4 Assam 2008.7 5 Bihar 952.39 6 Chandigarh 63.27 7 Chhattisgarh 735.23 8 Goa 116.54 9 Gujarat 1333.16 10 Haryana 576.527 11 Himachal Pradesh 765.5 12 Jammu & Kashmir 224.178 13 Jharkhand 364.61 14 Karnataka 3516.77 15 Kerala 3082.196 16 Madhya Pradesh 2669.21 17 Maharashtra 1673.231 18 Manipur 816.56 19 Meghalaya 1427.17 20 Mizoram 1377.3 21 Nagaland 4124.06 22 Odisha 4502.02 23 Rajasthan 1403.56 24 Sikkim 1180.45 25 Tamil Nadu 1893.41 26 Telangana 36.59 27 Uttar Pradesh 1433.23 28 Uttarakhand 2031.874 29 West Bengal 2237.64 30 Puducherry 5.22 31 Lakshadweep 1536.66 32 Delhi 0 33 Tripura 786.21 34 Ladakh UT 316.29 Grand Total 46317.87Annexure-II(e) Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.

3461 due for answer on 11.08.2025 regarding Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu asked by Thiru D M Kathir Anand State/UT Wise details of funds released under MISHTI since inception in 2023-24 (Rs in Crore) S. No State/UT Total funds released as 1st instalment 1 Gujarat 6.20 2 West Bengal 3.74 3 Kerala 0.666 4 Puducherry 1.94 5 Andhra Pradesh 4.709 6 Odisha 0.7027 Total 17.9617 ***