Q. The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has released the draft National Forest Policy (NFP), 2018. In this context, consider the following statements:

1. The draft has proposed to introduce a green tax.
2. It proposes the participation of private sector in forest management
3. It aims at setting up of two new national bodies for forest management

Which of the above statements is/are correct?
Answer: 2 & 3 Only
Notes: First statement is incorrect because the provision to levy green tax was proposed in the draft National Forest Policy, 2016. But in the draft of National Forest Policy, 2018, the provision to levy green tax has been omitted. Second statement is correct. The draft National Forest Policy, 2018 envisages involving the private sector in forest management. Third statement is correct. The draft policy suggests setting up of two national-level bodies’ viz. National Community Forest Management (CFM) Mission and National Board of Forestry (NBF) for better management of the country’s forests. The draft National Policy, 2018 aims to bring a minimum of one-third of India’s total geographical area under forest or tree cover. The draft suggests that the ecologically sensitive catchment areas shall be stabilized with suitable soil and water conservation measures, and also by planting suitable trees and grass like bamboo. It also says that the proposed NBF should be headed by the central minister in charge of forests and the state boards of forestry to be headed by state ministers in charge of forests.