The Government has said that its focus over the next three years will be on compliance of rules and laws. Addressing a press conference on the new initiatives and efforts of the Government over the last two years, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Prakash Javadekar, said that the highlights of the initiatives include – increase in forest cover, better pollution monitoring and control, 2000 approvals unlocking Rs. 10 lakh crore of investment and a job potential of 10 lakh, reducing project approval period from 600 to 190 days through standardization, decentralization, transparent processes and policy decisions and protecting India’s interest at COP 21 in Paris.
Emphasising the Government’s forest initiatives, Shri Javadekar said that the policy for incentivizing tree cover outside forest, corridor protection, water and fodder augmentation in Protected Areas (PAs) and new schemes like urban forest and School Nursery are some of the efforts to increase forest cover. He said that the forest cover is about 21 per cent, but the target is 33 per cent, which will be possible only by increasing the tree cover outside forest area. The Minister said that special efforts are being made to avoid animal-human conflict. The filing of 6 patents by Institutes of Forest Research, 655 new flora discoveries and 115 new fauna discoveries were some of the other major initiatives on forest, Shri Javadekar added.
Recounting some of the initiatives on pollution, the Environment Minister underlined the adoption of a scientific formula to review Comprehensive Environment Pollution Index (CEPI) and re-categorisation of industries on the basis of pollution load. He said that his Ministry is promoting Ease of Doing Responsible Business. The Minister also pointed to the revamping of Waste Management Rules as another major initiative.
Highlighting the coastal initiatives, Shri Javadekar said that mangroves have increased by 100 sq km and detailed high-resolution coastal map and High Tide Line (HTL) drawn with high-resolution technology and low-flying survey are some of the efforts made by the government.
He underlined the proactive and constructive leadership role played by India at COP 21 and in particular, pointed to the creation of an additional carbon sink of 2.5 billion tonnes.
The Minister said that our mandate is to maintain balance and protect the five elements that comprise the Universe. He also made a reference to the active public participation in activities organized by the Ministry, such as ‘Chintan Shivir’ and people visiting Climate Express in large numbers.
An 11-minute film on the new initiatives and efforts of the Ministry was also screened on the occasion.