All that was discussed in the House through the day
Mining activities in forest areas
In the last three years 47469.49 hectare of forest land has been diverted for different non-forestry purposes including mining activities and against this 62769.58 ha have been stipulated for afforestation in the same period, said Union Minister of State for Forest Babul Supriyo in the Lok Sabha on July 12, 2019.
Also, to reduce environment pollution various mitigation measures are stipulated were taken while granting environment clearances, he added. Mining activities in forest areas do not contribute to cascading effect on depletion of rainfall and environment pollution, Supriyo told the Lower House.
Genetically modified crops
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has received some representation objecting to genetically modified (GM) mustard, brinjal crops on grounds that they may adversely impact the environment, biodiversity and human health, said Prakash Javadekar, Union environment minister told the Lok Sabha.
Shetkari Sanghatana, a farmers’ organisation in Maharashtra, has written to the ministry demanding access to more GM crops for the welfare of farmers.
Usage of fly ash
The utilisation of fly ash has increased to 132 million tonnes (MT) in 2017-18 from 66.6 MT in 2008-09, according to a report by the Central Electricity Authority. In 2017-18, the overall utilisation of fly ash in various applications was 67 per cent, which included 25.6 per cent in cement sector, 10.48 per cent in reclamation of low lying area, 9.01 per cent in bricks and tiles, 6.9 per cent in ash dyke raising, 6.37 per cent in mines backfilling, 3.4 per cent in roads and flyovers, 0.66 per cent in concrete and 0.29 per cent in agriculture.
Also, an expert committee led by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has prepared an action plan to enhance utilisation of fly ash in various sectors, the Lok Sabha was told on July 12, 2019.
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