Lok Sabha Question No. 394 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-07-18
Subject: National Forest Policy
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: HEMAMALINI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 394

TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.07.2017

## National Forest Policy

## 394. SHRIMATI HEMA MALINI:

Will  the  Minister  of  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND  CLIMATE  CHANGE  be  pleased  to state:

- (a) whether  the  National  Forest  Policy  (NFP)  envisages  one-third  of  the  total  land  of  the country under forest or tree cover as a national goal;
- (b) if so, the details thereof along with the total land under forest/tree in the country, as on date, State/UT-wise;
- (c) whether the Government has received representations/suggestions from various quarters including environmental activists over the fast depleting forest cover in the country;
- (d) if so, the details thereof along with the reaction of the Government thereto; and
- (e) the  steps  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  to  prevent  depleting  forest  area  and effective implementation of the NFP across the country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (DR. HARSH VARDHAN)

- (a) The National Forest Policy, 1988 envisages to have a minimum of one-third of the total land area of the country under forest or tree cover.
- (b) The State/UT wise details of forest cover of the country is given in Annexure.
- (c)  &  (d)  Forest  Survey  of  India,  Dehradun,  a  subordinate  office  of  the  Ministry  has  been carrying  out  the  assessment  of  forest  cover  of  the  country  using  remote  sensing technology. The findings are published in report titled India State Forest Report (ISFR). As per latest ISFR 2015, forest cover of the country has shown an increase of 3,775 sq km over the previous assessment in ISFR 2013.
- (e) To increase the forest cover in the country, afforestation programme is taken up under various Centrally Sponsored Schemes such as National Afforestation Programme (NAP), Green  India  Mission  (GIM),  Mahatma  Gandhi  National  Rural  Employment  Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Pradhan  Mantri  Krishi  Sinchayee  Yojana  (PMKSY)  and  under Compensatory  Afforestation  Fund  Management  and  Planning  Authority  (CAMPA).

National  Afforestation  Programme  (NAP)  of  the  Ministry  of  Environment,  Forest  and Climate  Change  is  a  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  for  afforestation  and  tree  plantation and eco-restoration of degraded forests and adjoining areas through people's participation in the country. The scheme is being implemented through a decentralized mechanism of State  Forest  Development  agency  (SFDA)  at  State  Level,  Forest  Development  agency (FDA) at  Forest  Division  level  and  Joint  Forest  Management  Committees  (JFMCs)  at Village  level.  In  addition,  the  State  Governments  also  take  up  several  afforestation programmes to enhance and enrich forest cover of the country.

The Ministry also provides Grants-in-aid to the  States/ Union Territories Governments for  protection  and  management  of  forests  under  Intensification  of  Forest  Management Scheme (IFMS).  The aim of the scheme is to supplement the efforts of the States and Union Territories towards protection and management of forests.  The Funds under the scheme are utilized for purchase of vehicles for patrolling of the forests, establishment of camps, watch towers for detection and monitoring of forest fires, creation and maintenance of fire lines, survey and demarcation of forest areas and strengthening forest infrastructure etc.

***

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (B)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED  QUESTION NO. 394 ASKED BY SHRIMATI HEMA MALINI DUE FOR ANSWER ON 18.07.2017 REGARDING NATIONAL FOREST POLICY

## State/UTs wise Forest cover as per India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2015.

## Area in square Kilometers

| States/UTs          | Total Forest Cover 2015   |
|---------------------|---------------------------|
| Andhra Pradesh      | 24,424                    |
| Arunachal Pradesh   | 67,248                    |
| Assam               | 27,623                    |
| Bihar               | 7,288                     |
| Chhattisgarh        | 55,586                    |
| Delhi               | 189                       |
| Goa                 | 2,224                     |
| Gujarat             | 14,660                    |
| Haryana             | 1,584                     |
| Himachal Pradesh    | 14,696                    |
| Jammu & Kashmir     | 22,988                    |
| Jharkhand           | 23,478                    |
| Karnataka           | 36,421                    |
| Kerala              | 19,239                    |
| Madhya Pradesh      | 77,462                    |
| Maharashtra         | 50,628                    |
| Manipur             | 16,994                    |
| Meghalaya           | 17,217                    |
| Mizoram             | 18,748                    |
| Nagaland            | 12,966                    |
| Odisha              | 50,354                    |
| Punjab              | 1,771                     |
| Rajasthan           | 16,171                    |
| Sikkim              | 3,357                     |
| Tamil Nadu          | 26,345                    |
| Telangana           | 21,591                    |
| Tripura             | 7,811                     |
| Uttar Pradesh       | 14,461                    |
| Uttarakhand         | 24,240                    |
| West Bengal         | 16,828                    |
| A&N Islands         | 6,751                     |
| Chandigarh          | 22,.03                    |
| Dadra &Nagar Haveli | 206                       |
| Daman &Diu          | 19.61                     |
| Lakshadweep         | 27.06                     |
| Puducherry          | 55.38                     |
| Grand Total         | 701,673                   |