The Bihar Government recently announced a ban on the felling of trees on state-owned properties in different cities of Bihar, citing increasing pollution as well as a fatal heatwave in the state as the reason for the ban.
a. Bihar
b. Uttar Pradesh
c. Madhya Pradesh
d. Maharashtra
Details:
- Bihar Government has taken this decision as most cities of Bihar are ranked in list of World's most polluted cities which includes- Patna (7th position), Muzaffarpur (13th position), Gaya (18th position) and Bhagalpur.
- Also, currently Bihar does not have any Tree Protection Act active, due to which people who privately own a tree in the state are cutting it indiscriminately.
One must know:
- The current order against banning tree felling was passed under the Forest Conservation Act (FCA),1980.
- This new scheme is valid only for State Government owned properties and not for people who privately own a tree.
More about this Initiative:
- With this new initiative, the Bihar Government has put a hold on tree harvesting for at least government held projects.
- Now for undertaking any development project (like a road or highway tenders) if anybody now wants to remove a tree would have to translocate/shift the project or the trees to some other place.
- Engineers have also been asked not to cut trees while building/expanding roads.
- All permissions granted to cut trees for development works have become null and void.
- Trees on private land, however, can be felled in the absence of a tree-protection Act in Bihar.
Bihar Government's Vision:
- Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister of Bihar has repeatedly announced his government's commitment to increase the state's green cover to 17%.
- As of date, Bihar has been able to increase its green cover from 7% to 15% under the Green Mission.
What is the Forest Conservation Act, 1980?
- It is an Act of the Parliament of India that was enacted for providing a higher level of protection to forests and to regulate diversion of forest lands for non-forestry purposes.
- As per the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 Prior permission/approval of the Central Government is essential for De-reservation/Diversion of forest lands for non-forestry purposes.
- This is given on the condition that the user agency will deposit the required amount to undertake compensatory afforestation for mitigating the negative impact of forest land diversion.
- The act extends to the whole of India except the state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
Question:
Q. Which state's government recently announced a ban on the felling of trees on state-owned properties citing increasing pollution as well as a fatal heatwave in the state as a reason for the ban?a. Bihar
b. Uttar Pradesh
c. Madhya Pradesh
d. Maharashtra
