New Delhi, Aug. 21: The minister of state for environment and forests, Mr Jairam Ramesh, on Saturday told the Rajya Sabha that the country’s first impact assessment report on change in environment is likely to be brought out by November.
The report will assess the impact of climate change on important sectors like agriculture, water, health and forests. He stated that the government has made a provision for Rs 25,000 crore to mitigate the impact of climate change.
“The assessment report is being prepared by the involvement of about 220 scientists from 120 research institutions across the country,” he stated. The report will assess the impact in the Himalayas, the North-East, Western Ghats and coastal areas.
On the environmental mitigation fund, the minister said money is being raised through cess on coal and compulsory afforestation fund.
He said Rs 10,000 crore is already available under the Compensatory Afforestation and Management Planning Authority, while another fund of Rs 10,000 crore would be generated by 2015 from cess on coal.
Besides, the finance ministry has sanctioned Rs 5,000 crore as recommended by 13th Finance Commission.
On the need for the assessment report, the minister stated that the country needed to know what would be the impact of such changes in the middle term, like by 2025, and not wait for reports that are predicting for 2050 or later.