FOREST SURVEY OF
INDIA CONTESTS ADMN'S CLAIM OF 35.7 PC GREEN COVER, 'HIGHEST' IN ASIA
Is the city the
greenest in Asia, as claimed by the Chandigarh administration? Not
really, if the recent report released by the Forest Survey of India (FSI)
for 2009 is an indication.
The controversy
refuses to die down despite the fact that the administration had
written to the FSI earlier this month to consider its claim. The FSI,
in its reply, again refused to make the necessary amendment.
The FSI, which
functions under the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests,
conducts survey of forest resources in the country and is the only
organisation doing so.
While the
administration claims its green cover is 35.7 per cent of its
geographical area, including forest and tree cover, the latest FSI
report states it is only 24.56 per cent of the geographical area.
In a
communication to the FSI before the preparation of the report, the UT
had stated that as per Section 48 (5) and Schedule 13 of the Punjab
Reorganisation Act, 1966, the area of the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary
spread over 26 sq km vested with the UT. It said that however, in the
revenue records, this area had been shown in Punjab and Haryana.
The
administration stated that as per the Act, this area is under the
possession of Chandigarh right since November 1, 1966, and had been
declared as Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary in 1998.
"To make the
requisite entry in the revenue records, meetings have been conducted
between the Deputy Commissioners of Chandigarh, Panchkula and SAS
Nagar on various occasions and the process is still on", said the
communication.
Deputy
Conservator of Forests Ishwar Singh said the FSI, in its 2005 report,
had indicated that this forest area was with Chandigarh, but at the
same time, this did not reflect in the forest cover of the UT.
Explaining how
the city's green cover is 35.7 per cent of its geographical area, the
administration had, in 2007, stated that the total green cover of
Chandigarh was 50 sq km (41 sq km +9 sq km) and its geographical area
was 140 sq km (114+26 sq km). It requested the FSI to make a suitable
correction by including the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary in the green
cover of the UT in its report.
H: In a fresh
assessment of green cover in the country, the Indian State of Forest
Survey-2009 put Chandigarh at the second position in the country as
far as tree cover is concerned.
The Ministry of
Environment and Forests had released the report in December-2009 at
New Delhi.
"The highest
rank goes to Lakshwadeep (12.5 per cent) followed by Chandigarh (9.65
per cent), Delhi (8.29 per cent), Daman and Diu (8.04 per cent), Goa
(7.73 per cent) and Kerala (7.21 per cent)," revealed the Indian State
of Forest Survey.
The tree cover
includes tree patches outside the recorded forest area measuring less
than one hectare such as tress along roads, railways, canals,
farmlands and homesteads. The total tree cover in Chandigarh stands at
11 sq km.
If the tree
patches are more than one hectare, they are recorded in the category
of forest area.
Chandigarh
secured third position in the category of forest cover in terms of
percentage of the total geographical area among all the UTs. In this
category also, Lakshwadeep leads the pack with 82.75 per cent of
geographical area, followed by Dadar and Nagar Haweli (42.97 per
cent), Chandigarh (14.91 per cent) and New Delhi (11.94 per cent).
It is pertinent
to mention here that the Forest Survey of India (FSI), which carried
out the Indian State of Forest Survey-2009, does not count the Sukhna
Wildlife Sanctuary area in Chandigarh as in revenue records, its
ownership is with Punjab and Haryana, otherwise its ranking among
other states and UTs might have been improved.
The report said
Chandigarh does not witness any change in forest cover from the last
survey, but Punjab sees an increase by 4 sq km, Himachal Pradesh by 2
sq km and Haryana lost the forest cover by 10 sq km.
As per Section
48 (5) and Schedule 13th of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, 26 sq
km area, which was acquired for soil and moisture conservation, is in
possession with Chandigarh but in revenue records it is still being
shown with the states of Punjab and Haryana. The area has been under
the possession of the Chandigarh administration since November 1,
1966, but the FSI relies on the records of Survey of India.
Ishwar Singh,
conservator of forests and director of environment, justified, "This
area of 26 sq km is in our possession. It is due to our contributions
that it was brought into forest and then in 1998 it was notified as a
wildlife sanctuary. If we add this area, our forest cover comes to (17
+ 26) 43 sq km, and total green cover jumps to 38.5 per cent of the
total geographical area."
