In a move to reduce deforestation in the country and increase the carbon stock, India may dole out incentives, like tax exemption to owners to preserve their land.
Incidentally, Brazil, which has the world's largest tropical Amazon rainforest that soaks up vast amounts of carbon and its preservation is seen as important in the fight against climate change, is also mulling payments for "environmental services" to landowners who maintain a minimum percentage of their land in its natural State.
In fact, a recent study published in the journal 'Science' too has said deforestation dropped by more than half in Ugandan villages where land owners were paid about USD 28 per hectare each year if they preserved their trees.
India may follow the suit with the Union Environment Ministry seeking nod from the Finance and Rural Development Ministries for tax exemption, exemption from application of the restriction of Rural land Ceiling to the private land which can be preserved as forest land.
As restriction on area that can be developed (Not exceeding 5 per cent for instance) attracts the provision of Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 as this would involve land use change, the RD Ministry's intervention is being sought.
The Environment Ministry's move follows an advice from a Parliamentary panel which suggested the former to incentivize the private land owners to grow the land available with them as forest to enhance the country's green area cover.
"The Committee feels that as the forest cover of the country has been drastically and constantly depleting, there is a need to involve private sector in increasing the forest cover by encouraging private land participation in preservation and conservation of forests," said the panel headed by Rajya Sabha MP Anand Sharma.
In its report tabled in Parliament on Thursday, the panel noted that many people having large landholdings were keen to contribute to increasing the forest cover of the country. This would also give a boost to the shrinking forest cover of the country, the panel said as it favoured tax exemptions and compensations to those who propose to raise forests on the big areas of land available with them.
"They should be incentivized only when the land available with them grows as forest, so that the green area cover of the country grows," the report said adding that this will not only increase India's forest cover, meet some of the Green India Mission requirements but also bring in much needed private participation in conservation and preservation of forests.
In its reply, the Ministry agreed with the panel's recommendation, saying that it would also encourage the people for taking up plantation on private lands on voluntary basis.