The Green Hour traces environment-related proceedings during each parliamentary session. Issue I of Volume II covers the Winter Session 2023 and the Interim Budget Session 2024.
The Green Hour is a periodical that covers parliamentary proceedings on environmental matters. This is the 1st Issue of the 2nd Volume that covers Winter Session 2023 held in December and the Interim Budget Session 2024 in February. Previous issues of The Green Hour can be accessed here.This edition of The Green Hour report comprises 5 Chapters as follows.
Chapter 1 introduces the reader to the broad framework of the report. The scope, definitions & classifications are laid out in this chapter. The methodology and limitations in analysing the information for this publication are outlined in Chapter 2.
Chapter 3 decodes the parliamentary proceedings from the environmental lens during the Question Hour in the Winter Session 2023 and Interim Budget Session 2024. It covers questions to and responses by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC), thematic distribution of these questions and responses, and geographical representation of the Members of the Parliament (MPs). For the Budget Session, because of limited entries during the Question Hour, only prominent questions and their responses are covered.
Chapter 4 titled âIn Focusâ provides detailed insight into the new Forest Conservation Rules 2023 notified under the new Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 (erstwhile Forest Conservation Act, 1980), debate on the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Act, 2024 and analysis of the Interim Budget presented by the government in February 2024.
Chapter 5 titled âBeyond the Parliamentâ, provides important environment-related policy and legal updates. The guidelines for calculation of green credits; the proposed standards for the pulp and paper industry through the draft Environment (Protection) Seventh Amendment Rules, 2023, and the recently notified Living Animal Species (Reporting and Registration) Rules 2024 under the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972 are discussed.
Chapter 6 covers Private Membersâ Bills that were introduced in both sessions of the Parliament. Only one Private Membersâ Bill titled The Adaptation to Climate Change (Resilience, Rehabilitation and Resettlement) Bill, 2023, was introduced by Ms Vandana Chavan in RS during the Winter Session 2023.
Key Highlights from the Winter Session 2023 and Interim Budget Session 2024 are as follows:
MoEFCC responded to 184 questions out of the 5637 questions responded to by the Union Government in both the Houses. Similarly, in the Interim Budget Session 2024, MoEFCC responded to 60 questions out of the 2549 questions (2.4%) responded to by the Union Government during the Question Hour.
The comparative trend of questions across themes between the Winter Sessions, i.e. 2022 and 2023, shows an interesting trend of changing issues. Questions under âEnvironmental Managementâ were the most prominent in the Winter Session 2023. On the contrary in the previous Winter Sessionâ 2022, the âInstitutional Functioningâ theme was the most prominent. The highest increase was seen under the theme âClimate Changeâ whereas the highest decline was seen under the theme âForest Regulationâ.
Comparative Analysis of Questions Under Different Thematic Areas in the Last Two Winter Sessions (Source: The Green Hour, Vol. 2 Issue I)
Statewise, the highest participation of MPs was seen from Tamil Nadu (14.7%), Maharashtra (13.6%), and Uttar Pradesh (10.9%). The Himalayan region saw an increase in participation during the Question hour wherein 11 questions were from this region which is 6% of the total number of questions responded to by MoEFCC.
State/UT-Wise Representation of the Number of MPs Asking Questions to the MOEFCC in Parliament. (Source: The Green Hour, Vol. 2 Issue I)
Under the Interim Budget, MoEFCC has been allocated Rs 3265.5 Crores for FY 2024-25. The Revised Estimates (RE) for the last year i.e. 2023-24 stood at Rs. 3231 Crores. In terms of the increase in percentage, this is just a 1.07% increase from the previous yearâs RE. The Budget Estimate for 2023-24 was Rs. 3079.4 Crores. In 2022-23, for which the actual expenditure is available, the MoEFCC spent Rs. 2389.3 Crores.
The full report can be downloaded using the link below-
TheGreenHour_V2I_OCR_Bookmarked.pdf (4.2 MB)