Question: How much of fund has been allocated by Indian Government for enhancing forest cover?
(a)Rs. 66000 crore
(b)Rs 66200 crore
(c) Rs 66400 crore
(d)Rs 62000 crore
Answer: (a)
Related Facts:
- In order to boost afforestation government has released a fund of Rs.66000 crore; this fund is a collection of contribution made by user agencies as a compensation for diverging land for non-forest purpose, since the past 10 years.
- The government has notified the rules for efficient utilization of money by the states and Union territories and competent authority to monitor in this regard.
Some Major highlights:
- The rules were notified on 10 august 2018. According to the directives 80% of the green fund will be utilized for green activities under 13 permissible activities.
- The remaining 20% will be used for enhancing wildlife infrastructure.
Area under Forest Cover:
- According to India State of forest Report (SFR) 2017, there is a marginal 0.21% increase in area under forest between 2015&2017.
- Report specifies that forest cover is about 21.53% of the geographical area of the country.
- At present, 15 states and Union Territories have 33% of their available land under forest. However, declining rate is shown by north-east state than 2015 report.
References-
http://www.cpreecenvis.nic.in/KidsCentre/Governmentunlocksgreen_5417.aspx