Botanical Survey of India (BSI)
The Botanical Survey of India (BSI), established in 1890 with the objectives of surveying and identifying the land resources, has its headquarters at Calcutta and nine circles located in different phyto-geographical regions of the country.
The activities of the BSI during the year are summarised below:-
Survey of District Flora : About 25 collection tours were undertaken during the year by various circles of the BSI covering several districts of the country. The specimens collected are being identified and studied. A detailed manuscript for Nokrek Biosphere Reserve is under preparation. A preliminary checklist of plants for Junagadh district has been prepared.
Survey of Plant Resources of the Country : About 30 exploration tours were undertaken by various circles and units of BSI in different priority areas of the country during which a number of specimens have been collected. These are being analysed and studied. The manuscript of "Plants of Gangtok" is being finalised.
National Flora/Flora of India : Work relating to the publication of volumes 9 and 22 of the Flora of India was continued during the year.
State Flora : Manuscripts of Flora of Mizoram, Volume I and Flora of Assam, Volume I have been prepared. Manuscripts of Flora of Kerala, Volume II and "Plants of Delhi" are being finalised. Work relating to publication of other State Flora is progressing.
Studies on endangered species : Information on 11 threatened plants from the Western Circle has been collected for Volume V of the Red Data Book of Indian Plants. Over 300 live plants were collected during the year for ex-situ conservation in Botanic Gardens.
Scientific evaluation of useful plants : Description, economic uses, distribution, phenological data etc. of 56 useful plant species of Tamil Nadu have been completed and preparation of the manuscript of "Useful Plants of Tamil Nadu" is in progress.
Ethnobotanical studies: Five tours were undertaken in the states of Assam, Tripura, Karnataka etc., to study various tribes as well as the plant species used by these tribal people for various purposes. The manuscript of "Eerworts of Himalaya" is in progress.
Publications of the BSI brought out during the year:
Zoological Survey of India (ZSI)
The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) was established in 1916 with survey exploration and inventorisation of the countrys faunal wealth as its major objective. While the headquarters of ZSI is in Calcutta, it has 16 regional stations located in different parts of the country.
Highlights of various activities of ZSI during the year are as follows:-
Exploration and Survey of Faunal Resources
A total of 45 surveys covering different ecosystems in various States were conducted, during which collection of voucher specimens of non-scheduled animals as well as detailed field observations on scheduled animals were undertaken.
Tropical Rain-Forest Ecosystem
Faunal explorations were undertaken in the forested areas of Idduki, Quilon and Pathanamthitta districts of Kerala.
Ladakh in Western Himalaya, Gharwal District of Uttar Pradesh in Central Himalaya and several areas of Eastern Himalaya falling in Sikkim state, were explored during the year.
Several wetlands of national importance, such as the Harike in Punjab, Pichola and Sambhar lakes in Rajasthan, Chilka in Orissa, Kondakarla in Andhra Pradesh, Pong wetland in Himachal Pradesh and few waterbeds of Doon Valley in Uttar Pradesh were surveyed. Besides general faunistic surveys, detailed ecological studies were also carried out on some lakes and ponds of Calcutta, Darjeeling and Hyderabad and Damodar River of West Bengal.
Under this ecosystem, Krishna estuary in Andhra Pradesh and Hugly-Matla estuarine system in West Bengal were surveyed. Detailed ecological studies on the intertidal fauna of Hugly - Matla were also carried out.
Faunal exploration of coastal waters of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal were undertaken. Periodical surveys in connection with coastal biomonitoring studies of Digha coast, West Bengal, were also undertaken.
Several surveys were undertaken for detailed studies on the distribution, population structure and behaviour of a non-human primate, Macaca assamensis and giant squirrel, Rotofa scrofa in North Bengal and the Indian elephant Elephus maximus indicus L. in Orissa.
Faunistic surveys were conducted in Pench National Park, Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Tadoba National Park of Maharashtra, Govind Pashu Vihar in Uttar Pradesh and Gorumara National Park in West Bengal.
Faunal explorations of Desert Biosphere Reserve (Rajasthan), Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve (Tamil Nadu) and Sunderban Biosphere Reserve (West Bengal) were conducted.
Under this project, Melghat Tiger Reserve (Maharashtra), Agasthamalai Tiger Reserve (Tamil Nadu) and Sunderban Tiger Reserve (West Bengal) were explored. ZSI was also involved in the Tiger Census operations at the Sunderban Tiger Reserve.
Surveys were conducted at Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary (Kerala), Bhimband Wildlife Sanctuary (Bihar), Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary (Delhi) and Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary (Kerala) for faunal exploration and general ecological studies.
Under this programme, several districts of Andhra Pradesh (Adilabad, Godavari, Karim Nagar, Krishna and Nizamabad) Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar (Gaya, Gumla, and Loherdanga), Gujarat (Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Junagarh, Jamnagar and Rajkot), Madhya Pradesh (Bilaspur, Raipur, Ranigarh and Surguja), Maharashtra (Aurangabad, Ahmednagar and Kolhapur), Mizoram (Aizwal and Lungeli), Nagaland, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu (Chingalpet and Dharmapuri), Uttar Pradesh (Basti, Daoria, Dholipur, Gonda and Gorakhpur) Kerala and West Bengal (Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri) were surveyed.
The study and analysis of the fauna collected from 13 states, 10 conservation areas and six specialised ecosystems are presented below:
Details of the number of species identified under major groups based on the collections made from different state surveys, are given in Table - 1.
Table - 1
Groups of Animals Identified
(Total number of specimens and species in parenthesis)
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Protozoa Porifera Platyhe- Rotlfera Polychaeta Mollusca Annalida Crustacea Aptaeygota Odonata Orthoptara Isoptera Hemiptra Thysonoptra
lminth
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Andaman&Nicobar -- 35(10) -- -- -- -- 27(3) -- -- 85(13) 18(11) -- 3(3) --
Andhra Pradesh -- -- -- -- -- -- 170(20) 174(13) -- 50(25) -- 174(13) -- --
Arunanchal Pradesh -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Bihar -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Delhi -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Goa -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Himachal Pradesh -- -- -- -- -- -- 19(4) 60(7) -- 86(25) -- -- -- --
Kerala -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 487(8) -- -- -- -- -- --
Madhya Pradesh -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 256(30) -- -- -- --
Manipur -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 225(5) -- 11(4)
Maharashtra -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Meghalaya -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 925(15) -- --
Mizoram -- -- -- 3(1) -- 64(20) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Nagaland 30(30) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 40(15) -- -- -- --
Orissa -- 5(2) -- -- 815(30) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Pondicherry -- -- -- -- -- 3(3) -- -- 230(23) -- -- -- -- --
Rajasthan -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 5(4) -- -- 35(3)
Sikkim -- -- 4(4) 3(3) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 1060(18) -- 73(29)
Tamil Nadu -- -- -- -- -- 14(3) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Tripura -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 50(10) -- -- --
Uttar Pradesh -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 148(27) -- -- --
U.P. Terrain Regn. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
West Bengal -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
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Coleoctera Diptera Lepidoptera Trichoptera Hymenoptera Acari Arachnida Bryozoa Myriapoda Echinocermata Pisces Amphibia Mammalia
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Andaman&Nicobar 31(1) 10(10) 78(22) -- 7(7) -- -- -- -- 70(38) 185(86) -- 168(30)
Andhra Pradesh -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Arunanchal Pradesh -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 58(20) -- --
Bihar -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Delhi -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Goa -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 166(15) --
Himachal Pradesh -- -- 247(40) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Kerala -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Madhya Pradesh -- -- -- -- -- 143(12) 886(28) -- -- -- 354(41) -- --
Manipur -- -- -- -- 50(46) 40(1) 140(20) -- -- -- -- -- --
Maharashtra -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 36(10) -- 1(1)
Meghalaya -- -- 15(6) -- 15(3) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Mizoram -- -- -- -- -- 215(18) 180(18) -- -- -- -- -- --
Nagaland -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 4(1) -- 23(6)
Orissa -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Pondicherry -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Rajasthan -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Sikkim -- -- 178(20) 5(2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Tamil Nadu 30(12) 8(3) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Tripura 7(3) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Uttar Pradesh 4(3) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 945(90) 93(8) --
U.P. Terrain Regn. -- -- -- -- 10(5) -- -- -- 94(8) -- 99(19) -- --
West Bengal -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
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Tadoba National Park : 33 examples (4 species) of Thysanoptera, 6 examples (3 species) of Cladocera and 9 examples (4 species) of Reptilia and 2 examples (2 species) of Mammalia were identified.
Sanjay Gandhi National Park : One example (1 species) of Reptilia was determined.
Eravikulam National Park : Taxonomic studies were carried out on the odonates and fishes of this park. Two species of Odonates and 1 species of fishes were identified.
Pench National Park : 12 examples (4 species) of Cladocera and 66 examples (3 species) of Thysanoptera were identified.
Desert National Park : 32 examples (11 species), of Odonata were determined.
Govind Pashu Vihar : 114 examples (7 species) of Hymenopteran, 41 example (2 species) of Chilopoda and 28 examples (3 species) of Myriapoda were recognised.
Indira Gandhi National Park : Four examples (3 species) of Scorponoida, 35 examples (5 species) of Amphibia and 320 examples (12 species) of Pisces were identified.
Gulf Of Mannar Biosphere Reserve : 66 examples (37 species) of Pisces were determined.
Melghat Tiger Reserve : 49 examples (5 species) of Mollusca, 3 examples (1 species) of Lepidoptera, 6 examples (5 species), of Cladocera, 15 examples (1 species) of Myriapoda 201 examples (8 species) of Pisces, 18 examples, (1 species) of Amphibian and 9 examples (2 species) of Reptilia were identified.
Valmiki Tiger Reserve : 27 examples (5 species) of Amphibia and 54 examples (1 species) of Reptildia were determined.
Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary : 35 examples (10 species) of Hymenoptera, 229 examples (12 species) of Pisces were recognised.
Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary : 3 examples (2 species) of Hemiptera and 95 examples (5 species) of Amphibia were identified.
Harike Wetland, Punjab : 55 examples (1 species) of Oligochaeta, 50 examples (7 species) of Lepidoptera, 86 examples (10 species) of Pisces and 109 examples (3 species) of Amphibian were recognised.
Sukhna Wetland, Chandigarh : 6 examples (2 species) of Lepidoptera were studied and determined.
Wetland of Doon Valley : 575 examples (14 species) of fishes and 44 examples (4 species) of Amphibia were studied and identified.
Ujani Wetland : 55 examples (4 species) of Odonata, 4 examples (3 species) of Cladocera, 35 examples (1 species) of Pisces and 15 examples (5 species) of Amphibia were studied and recognised.
Birbhum District Wetland (Freshwater pond) : 35 examples (35 species) of Crustacea were studied and determined.
Botanical Garden Wetland (Freshwater Pond) : 38 examples (36 species) of Crustacea were studied and identified.
Lunglei District Wetland (Karnaphuli River) : 15 examples (9 species) of Pisces were studied and recognised.
Desert Ecosystem : 42 examples (1 species) of Oligochaeta, 33 examples (5 species) of Lepidoptera and 150 examples (3 species) of Pisces of the Ladakh Cold Desert were studied and determined.
Western Himalayan Ecosystem : 27 examples (5 species) of Oligochaeta were studied and identified.
Tropical Rain Forest Ecosystem of Western Ghat, Kerala
Idukki District : 40 examples (6 species) of Hymenoptera, 283 examples (14 species) of Pisces, 53 examples (15 species) of reptilia and 94 examples (13 examples) of Amphibia were studied and recognised.
Kannur and Kasargod Districts: 7 examples (4 species) of Amphibia and 4 examples (1 species) of Reptilia were studied and determined.
Pathanamthitta District : 57 examples (10 species) of Hymenoptera and 119 example (18 species) of Amphibia were studied and identified.
Quilon District : 12 examples (4 species) of Hymenoptera, 244 examples (15 species) of Pisces and 129 examples (19 species) of Amphibia were studied and recognised.
Malappuram District : 23 examples (8 species) of Pisces were studied and determined.
Trichur District : 10 examples (5 species) of Hymenoptera and 55 examples (9 species) of Amphibia were identified.
Calicut District: 2 examples (1 species) of Amphibia were identified.
Kozhikode District : 22 examples (8 species) of Pisces were studied and determined.
Estuarine Ecosystem : 99 examples (24 species) of Mollusca, 5 examples (2 species) of Porifera, 966 examples (30 species) of Polychaeta and 566 examples (61 species) of Pisces of the Godavari Estuary were studied and determined.
Andhra Pradesh Coast : 110 examples (3 species) of Sipuncula and 73 examples (2 species) of Polychaeta were determined.
Orissa Coast: 297 examples (32 species) of Pisces were studied and identified.
Tamil Nadu Coast : 259 examples (32 species) of Pisces were studied and identified.
West Coast: 135 examples (40 species) of Pisces were studied and determined.
The material obtained from Sagar Sampada cruises continued to be studied. During the year, 4311 examples belonging to 12 species of Chaetognatha were studied.
Environment Impact Assessment Studies
During the year detailed faunal studies, including site surveys, were made in respect of the following EIA projects referred to the ZSI by various state Agencies for expert opinion.
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Agency Project
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National Hydro-electric Power Kalpang Hydel Project
Corporation Ltd. Andaman
Govt. of West Bengal Oil spill at Haldia
Damodar Valley Corporation Maithan Thermal Power Station
A.C.C. Ltd. Cement Project at Siju Garo Hills
Meghalaya
Chennai Metropolitan Coastal Zone Management Plan,
Development Authority Chennai
Bharat-Oman Refinery Ltd. Single mooring oil pipeline.
N.E. Power Corporation Ltd. Kapili Hydel Project
Tamil Nadu Electricity Board Tambaparni Dam H.E. Project
Subernarakha River Project Subernarakha River Project
Govt. of Maharashtra Chikhaldare pump storage
Maharashtra
Indal-Tata Aluminium Project Baphlimali mines, Orissa
Indian Aluminum Co. Ltd. Mining Project, Idargan
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As a result of detailed investigations carried out by the Scientists of ZSI, one genus and five new species have been designated as new to science. The new genus, named as Paraiemea belongs to the order Hymenoptera of Insecta and has been discovered in Kerala. Its two species, viz., P. vishnuae and P. convexe have also been designated as new to science.
The other three species new to science viz., Hapleginella orientalis, Gampsocera indica and Gampsora nangpoensis belong to the order Diptera of Insecta.
Development of National Zoological Collections
The ZSI maintains a huge collection of zoological specimens consisting of a large number of properly identified species belonging to almost all groups of animals occurring in the country. During the year, the National Zoological Collections were further enriched by 22,328 identified specimens pertaining to 302 species. It includes five species new to science.
The following research studies/projects pertaining to various ecosystems were carried out during the year:
The Director and other staff members of the ZSI participated in several national and international seminars, workshops, conferences, expeditions etc. during the year.
Established in June, 1981, the Forest Survey of India (FSI) is entrusted with the task of survey of forest resources in the country. Besides the headquarters at Dehradun, the FSI has four zonal offices located at Bangalore, Calcutta, Nagpur and Shimla.
The objectives of FSI are as follows:
The activities of FSI during the year were as follows:
One of the main objectives of FSI is to assess the extent of forest cover and monitor on a two years cycle, the broad changes in forest vegetation cover of the country by using multi-satellite data on 1:2,50,000 scale.
The first attempt to assess the forest cover of the country by visual interpretation of satellite imageries was made in 1984-45 and the first National Vegetation Map was prepared in 1987 on 1:1 million scale. FSI has now completely switched over to the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite for the assessment of the forest cover. Besides visual interpretation of the satellite data, the survey is gradually switching over to digital image analysis, for which purpose, it has an image analysis system configured around VAX-11/780.
The State of Forests Report, 1997 was released by the Minister of Environment and Forests, on 6th Feb 1998. This is the sixth report in the series of biennial reports published by the FSI since 1987 and presents a comprehensive account of forest cover of the country and its dynamics over the previous assessment (SFR 1995).
The total forest cover of the country has been estimated to be 63.34 million ha. i.e. 19.27% of the geographic area of the country. While the dense forest (crown density more than 40%) and open forest (10%-40%) occupy about 11% and 8% of the geographic area respectively ,mangroves occupy 0.15% of the total geographic area.
Comparative account of forest cover of State/UT in 1995 and 1997 assessments (sq. km.)
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State/UT 1995 Assessment 1997 Assessment Change
Forest cover Forest cover
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Andhra Pradesh 47,112 43.290 -3,822
Arunachal Pradesh 68,621 -68,602 -19
Assam 24,061 23,824 -237
Bihar 26,561 26,524 -37
Delhi 26 26 Nil
Goa 1,247 1,252 +5
Gujarat 12,320 12,578 +258
Haryana 603 604 +1
Himachal Pradesh 12,501 12,521 +20
Jammu & Kashmir 20,433 20,440 +7
Karnataka 32,382 32,403 +21
Kerala 10,336 10,334 -2
Madhya Pradesh 135,164 131,195 -3,969
Maharashtra 43,843 46,143 -2,300
Manipur 17,558 17,418 -140
Meghalaya 15,714 15,657 -57
Mizoram 18,576 18,775 +199
Nagaland 14,291 14,221 -70
Orissa 47,107 46,941 -166
Punjab 1,342 1,387 +45
Rajasthan 13,280 13,353 +73
Sikkim 3,127 3,129 +2
Tamil Nadu 17,045* 17,064 +19
Tripura 5,538 5,546 +8
Uttar Pradesh 33,986 33,994 +8
West Bengal 8,276 8,349 +73
A&N Islands 7,615 7,613 -2
Chandigarh 7 7 Nil
Dadar & Nager Haveli 204 204 Nil
Daman & Diu 3 3 Nil
Lakshdweep** - - -
Pondicherry** - - -
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Total 638,879* 633,397 -5,482
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* An area of 721 Km of tea gardens earlier shown as forest cover has been excluded
from the forest cover.
** No discernible forest cover.
The country has lost about 5,482 sq. km of forest cover since the 1995 assessment. The changes in the various categories of forest cover are shown in Table - 2. Major losses have been recorded in the states of Andhra Pradesh (3,822 sq. km) and Madhya Pradesh (3,969 sq. km), while Maharashtra has shown a significant increase of 2,300 sq. km. The North Eastern states, which have a rich forest cover (67%), have lost 316 sq. km forest cover compared to the loss of 783 sq. km recorded during the 1995 assessment.
Table - 2
Forest cover in 1995 and 1997 Assessment (sq. km.)
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Category 1997 1995 Difference
Assessment Assessment
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Dense forest 367,260 385,037 -17,777
Open forest 261,310 249,309 +12,001
Mangrove 4,827 4,533 +294
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Total 6,33,397 6,38,879 -5482
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An analysis of the dynamics of the forest cover reveals that from dense forest an area of 19,456 sq. km. has degraded to open forest, 392 sq. km. to scrub and 3,129 sq. km. to non-forest areas. Similarly from open forest category, an area of 2,847 sq. km. has degraded to scrub and 8,846 sq. km. to non-forest area. On the other hand, from scrub and non-forest 1,474 sq. km. has improved to dense and 7,972 sq. km. to open forest.
Forest Cover in the Hill Districts
The 1997 assessment of the forest cover of the country has, for the first time, studies the forest cover of hill and tribal districts of the country. Assessment of the hilly areas of the country has revealed that, out of a total of 98 hill districts in the country, identified by the Planning Commission, only 30 districts have the stipulated forest cover of 66% or more envisaged in the National Forest Policy. The forest cover in hill areas averages to about 37%. It is interesting to note that the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland have more than two-thirds of their area under forest cover.
Forest Cover in the Tribal Districts
There are 149 tribal districts as identified under the tribal and plan of which an analysis was done for the first time to assess the forest cover situation. The analysis has revealed that 65.86% of the total forest cover of the country lie in 137 tribal districts. The average forest cover is about 35% of the geographic area in these tribal districts. Even these districts have registered a loss of about 4,900 sq. km. of forest cover compared to the previous assessment.
Keeping in view the important role played by forestry plantations in meeting fuelwood, timber and raw material requirement of the wood based industries, survey of plantation outside conventional forest has also been initiated by the FSI. The survey completed in Haryana reveals that the total growing stock of wood in the state is 10.3 million cu.m. as compared to 1.4 million cu.m. in the natural forest areas. Though the two situations are not comparable the availability of seven times more wood outside the forest areas reflects the great potential that the plantations programmes have in wood production.
Since its inception as Preinvestment Survey of Forest Resources (PISFR) in 1965, field inventory has been one of the most important activities of Forest Survey of India. During the sixteen years of existence, PISFR had carried out ground inventory over the forest area of 2.28 lakhs sq. km. in India and 0.38 lakhs sq. km. in Nepal and Bhutan. After creation of the Forest Survey of India (FSI) in 1981, it has carried out field inventories in an additional area of 4.01 lakhs sq. km. till 1995. Methodology adopted by the FSI for carrying out field inventories is based on the two stage stratified random sampling with standard error + 10%.
An inventory report prepared by the FSI gives details of area estimates, topographic description, classification, rate of forest (healthy or degraded), ownership pattern, estimation of volume and other growth parameters such as height and diameter in different types of forests, estimation of growth, regeneration and modality of important species, volume equation and wood consumption of the area studied.
The annual target of field inventory is about 25,000 sq. km. and data pertaining to 25,000 sq. km. is processed every year. The reports of inventory are being brought out every year.
FSI is engaged in preparing thematic maps on a scale of 1:50,000 by interpretation of aerial photographs. These maps depict the forest types, species composition, ground density of forest cover and other land users. These maps are prepared for the entire country on a ten year cycle. Every year about 5,000 aerial photographs corresponding to 260 topographical sheets are interpreted.
The objective of the Electronic Data Processing unit is to provide qualitative and quantitative information about the forest resources of the country. This unit functions as the national forest data bank by storing relevent data on forest inventory which includes the following information.
FSI organises a number of training programmes for forestry personnel on various aspects such as application of remote sensing techniques in forestry including GIS, forest inventory and electronic data processing. The duration of training varies from one week to four weeks depending on the level personnel and the objective of the training. One-week training is imparted to officers of the Indian Forest Service and 2 weeks training to SFS Officers for exposing them to remote sensing techniques and its application in forestry. Three weeks training is imparted to working plan officers to train them on the use of remote sensing techniques in preparation of working plans, updating stock maps, ground inventory and data processing. Four weeks training is imparted to forest range officers to train them in interpretation of aerial photographs and satellite data. The skills of the technical staff of FSI are also updated through trainings.
Digital Cartography System (DCS)
The Digital Cartographic System has been commissioned for the purpose of preparing vegetation and thematic maps. Major components of the system include Server, Raster Scanner, Manual Digitizing Subsystem, Graphics Edit Subsystem, Host Computer, Data Transfer Subsystem, Digital Photography Subsystem and a Cartographic Film Plotting Subsystem.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands Forest and Plantation Development Corporation Ltd.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands Forest and Plantation Development Corporation Ltd., a Government of India Undertaking, has a total paid up capital of Rs. 359.18 lakhs as on 31.3.1997. This is the twentieth successful year in which the Corporation has earned profit. It has also financed its capital investment from the resources regenerated internally. The Department of Public Enterprises has conferred the status of mini ratna to the Corporation. During the year, the Corporation has contributed a total sum of Rs. 628.01 lakhs to the national exchequer by way of income tax and royalty in addition to the dividend. The Corporation has created assests worth Rs.18.62 crores.