Lok Sabha Question No. 6650 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-04-06
Subject: Forest Coverage
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: BALABHADRA MAJHI

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  6650

TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.04.2018

## Forest Coverage

## 6650.    SHRI BALABHADRA MAJHI:

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

- (a) the details of forest coverage in the country in absolute terms and percentage of its own area and percentage of the country, State/UT-wise;
- (b) whether there has been an increase/decrease in forest coverage in various States/UTs during the last ten years;
- (c) if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise; and
- (d) whether the Government conducts tree census at periodic intervals and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (DR. MAHESH SHARMA)

- (a) Forest  Survey  of  India,  Dehradun,  a  subordinate  organization  under  Ministry  of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, carries out the assessment of forest cover of the country biennially and the findings are published in India State of Forest Report (ISFR). As per the latest report i.e. ISFR- 2017, the total forest and tree cover of the country is 8,02,088 square kilometers which is 24.39% of the total geographical area of the country.  It shows an increase of 8021 square kilometers over that of the India State of Forest Report 2015 (updated) out of which, there is a net increase of 6,778 square  kilometer  in  forest  cover  and  1,243  square  kilometer  in  tree  cover.    The State/UT-wise details of forest and tree cover are given in Annexure I and II.
- (b) & (c) There has been a net increase of 18,102 square kilometer in forest coverage in the last ten  years.  The  detail  of  State  wise  forest  cover  changes  between  State  of  Forest Report (2005) (revised)  and  India State  of  Forest  Report  (ISFR)  2017  are  given  in Annexure III.
- (d) Forest  survey  of  India  does  not  conduct  any  census  of  tree  in  the  country.  Forest Survey of India (FSI) conducts regular inventory of trees in forests and outside forests in the country under its National Forest Inventory programme by selecting 60 districts randomly in different physiographic zones on a cycle of two years. On the basis of data collected from these 60 districts and data of preceding 2 cycles, growing stock (stems & volume of wood) estimates are generated at national and state levels which are published in India State of Forest Report (ISFR).

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## Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 6650 due for answer on 06.04.2018 regarding 'Forest Coverage'

Forest Cover in States/UTs as per India State of Forest Report (ISFR) -2017.

(Area in square kilometers)

| State               | Geographic Area   | Total Forest cover as per ISFR-2017   | Forest cover percentage w.r.t geographic area of State   |   Forest cover percentage w.r.t geographic area of India. |
|---------------------|-------------------|---------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|
| Andhra Pradesh      | 162968            | 28,147                                | 17.27                                                    |                                                      0.85 |
| Arunachal Pradesh   | 83743             | 66,964                                | 79.96                                                    |                                                      2.03 |
| Assam               | 78438             | 28,105                                | 35.83                                                    |                                                      0.85 |
| Bihar               | 94163             | 7,299                                 | 7.75                                                     |                                                      0.22 |
| Chhattisgarh        | 135192            | 55,547                                | 41.09                                                    |                                                      1.68 |
| Delhi               | 1483              | 192.41                                | 12.97                                                    |                                                      0    |
| Goa                 | 3702              | 2,229                                 | 60.21                                                    |                                                      0.06 |
| Gujarat             | 196244            | 14,757                                | 7.52                                                     |                                                      0.44 |
| Haryana             | 44212             | 1,588                                 | 3.59                                                     |                                                      0.04 |
| Himachal Pradesh    | 55673             | 15,100                                | 27.12                                                    |                                                      0.45 |
| Jammu& Kashmir *    | 222236            | 23,241                                | 10.46                                                    |                                                      0.7  |
| Jharkhand           | 79716             | 23,553                                | 29.55                                                    |                                                      0.71 |
| Karnataka           | 191791            | 37,550                                | 19.58                                                    |                                                      1.14 |
| Kerala              | 38852             | 20,321                                | 52.30                                                    |                                                      0.61 |
| Madhya Pradesh      | 308252            | 77,414                                | 25.11                                                    |                                                      2.35 |
| Maharashtra         | 307713            | 50,682                                | 16.47                                                    |                                                      1.54 |
| Manipur             | 22327             | 17,346                                | 77.69                                                    |                                                      0.52 |
| Meghalaya           | 22429             | 17,146                                | 76.45                                                    |                                                      0.52 |
| Mizoram             | 21081             | 18,186                                | 86.27                                                    |                                                      0.55 |
| Nagaland            | 16579             | 12,489                                | 75.33                                                    |                                                      0.37 |
| Odisha              | 155707            | 51,345                                | 32.98                                                    |                                                      1.56 |
| Punjab              | 50362             | 1837                                  | 3.65                                                     |                                                      0.05 |
| Rajasthan           | 342239            | 16,572                                | 4.84                                                     |                                                      0.5  |
| Sikkim              | 7096              | 3,344                                 | 47.13                                                    |                                                      0.1  |
| Tamil Nadu          | 130060            | 26,281                                | 20.21                                                    |                                                      0.79 |
| Telangana           | 112077            | 20,419                                | 18.22                                                    |                                                      0.62 |
| Tripura             | 10486             | 7,726                                 | 73.68                                                    |                                                      0.23 |
| Uttar Pradesh       | 240928            | 14,679                                | 6.09                                                     |                                                      0.44 |
| Uttarakhand         | 53483             | 24,295                                | 45.43                                                    |                                                      0.73 |
| West Bengal         | 88752             | 16,847                                | 18.98                                                    |                                                      0.51 |
| A&N Islands         | 8249              | 6,742                                 | 81.73                                                    |                                                      0.2  |
| Chandigarh          | 114               | 21.56                                 | 18.91                                                    |                                                      0    |
| Dadra& Nagar Haveli | 491               | 207                                   | 42.16                                                    |                                                      0    |
| Daman& Diu          | 111               | 20.49                                 | 18.46                                                    |                                                      0    |
| Lakshadweep         | 30                | 27.10                                 | 90.33                                                    |                                                      0    |
| Puducherry          | 490               | 53.67                                 | 10.95                                                    |                                                      0    |
| Grand Total         | 32,87,469         | 708273                                | -----                                                    |                                                     21.54 |

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 6650 due for answer on 06.04.2018 regarding 'Forest Coverage.'

## Tree Cover in States/UTs in India

## (area in square kilometer)

| State               | Geographic Area   | Total Tree cover as per ISFR-2017   | Percent of Geographic area   |
|---------------------|-------------------|-------------------------------------|------------------------------|
| Andhra Pradesh      | 162968            | 3,753                               | 2.30                         |
| Arunachal Pradesh   | 83743             | 807                                 | 0.96                         |
| Assam               | 78438             | 1,496                               | 1.91                         |
| Bihar               | 94163             | 2,263                               | 2.40                         |
| Chhattisgarh        | 135192            | 3,833                               | 2.84                         |
| Delhi               | 1483              | 113                                 | 7.62                         |
| Goa                 | 3702              | 323                                 | 8.73                         |
| Gujarat             | 196244            | 8,024                               | 4.09                         |
| Haryana             | 44212             | 1,415                               | 3.20                         |
| Himachal Pradesh    | 55673             | 822                                 | 1.48                         |
| Jammu &Kashmir *    | 222236            | 7,815                               | 3.52                         |
| Jharkhand           | 79716             | 2,922                               | 3.67                         |
| Karnataka           | 191791            | 5,713                               | 2.98                         |
| Kerala              | 38852             | 2,959                               | 7.62                         |
| Madhya Pradesh      | 308252            | 8,073                               | 2.62                         |
| Maharashtra         | 307713            | 9,831                               | 3.19                         |
| Manipur             | 22327             | 220                                 | 0.99                         |
| Meghalaya           | 22429             | 657                                 | 2.93                         |
| Mizoram             | 21081             | 467                                 | 2.22                         |
| Nagaland            | 16579             | 379                                 | 2.29                         |
| Odisha              | 155707            | 3,993                               | 2.56                         |
| Punjab              | 50362             | 1,622                               | 3.22                         |
| Rajasthan           | 342239            | 8,266                               | 2.42                         |
| Sikkim              | 7096              | 35                                  | 0.49                         |
| Tamil Nadu          | 130060            | 4,671                               | 3.59                         |
| Telangana           | 112077            | 2,669                               | 2.38                         |
| Tripura             | 10486             | 215                                 | 2.05                         |
| Uttar Pradesh       | 240928            | 7,442                               | 3.09                         |
| Uttarakhand         | 53483             | 767                                 | 1.43                         |
| West Bengal         | 88752             | 2,136                               | 2.41                         |
| A&N Islands         | 8249              | 35                                  | 0.42                         |
| Chandigarh          | 114               | 10                                  | 8.77                         |
| Dadra &Nagar Haveli | 491               | 30                                  | 6.11                         |
| Daman &Diu          | 111               | 10                                  | 9.01                         |
| Lakshadweep         | 30                | 2                                   | 6.67                         |
| Puducherry          | 490               | 27                                  | 5.51                         |
| Grand Total         | 32,87,469         | 93,815                              | -------                      |

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (c) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 6650 due for answer on 06.04.2018 regarding 'Forest Coverage'

State/UT-wise forest cover changes between State of Forest Report (SFR) 2005 and India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2017.

(Area in square kilometers)

| State/UT                  | Forest Cover as per State Forest Report (SFR) 2005 (Revised)   | Forest Cover as per India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2017   | Change in forest cover 2005-2017   |
|---------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------|
| Andhra Pradesh &Telangana | 45,231                                                         | 48,566                                                         | 3,335                              |
| Arunachal Pradesh         | 67,472                                                         | 66964                                                          | -508                               |
| Assam                     | 27,758                                                         | 28105                                                          | 347                                |
| Bihar                     | 6,807                                                          | 7299                                                           | 492                                |
| Chhattisgarh              | 55,929                                                         | 55547                                                          | -382                               |
| Delhi                     | 177                                                            | 192.41                                                         | 15                                 |
| Goa                       | 2,156                                                          | 2229                                                           | 73                                 |
| Gujarat                   | 14,604                                                         | 14757                                                          | 153                                |
| Haryana                   | 1,604                                                          | 1588                                                           | -16                                |
| Himachal Pradesh          | 14,666                                                         | 15100                                                          | 434                                |
| Jammu &Kashmir            | 22,689                                                         | 23241                                                          | 552                                |
| Jharkhand                 | 22,722                                                         | 23553                                                          | 831                                |
| Karnataka                 | 36,200                                                         | 37550                                                          | 1,350                              |
| Kerala                    | 17,284                                                         | 20321                                                          | 3,037                              |
| Madhya Pradesh            | 77,739                                                         | 77414                                                          | -325                               |
| Maharashtra               | 50,661                                                         | 50682                                                          | 21                                 |
| Manipur                   | 16,952                                                         | 17346                                                          | 394                                |
| Meghalaya                 | 17,205                                                         | 17146                                                          | -59                                |
| Mizoram                   | 18,600                                                         | 18186                                                          | -414                               |
| Nagaland                  | 13,665                                                         | 12489                                                          | -1,176                             |
| Orissa                    | 48,755                                                         | 51345                                                          | 2,590                              |
| Punjab                    | 1,660                                                          | 1837                                                           | 177                                |
| Rajasthan                 | 16,012                                                         | 16572                                                          | 560                                |
| Sikkim                    | 3,357                                                          | 3344                                                           | -13                                |
| Tamil Nadu                | 23,314                                                         | 26281                                                          | 2,967                              |
| Tripura                   | 8,173                                                          | 7726                                                           | -447                               |
| Uttar Pradesh             | 14,346                                                         | 14679                                                          | 333                                |
| Uttarakhand               | 24,493                                                         | 24295                                                          | -198                               |
| West Bengal               | 12,970                                                         | 16847                                                          | 3,877                              |
| A&NIslands                | 6,663                                                          | 6742                                                           | 79                                 |
| Chandigarh                | 17                                                             | 21.56                                                          | 5                                  |
| Dadra &N. Haveli          | 216                                                            | 207                                                            | -9                                 |
| Daman &Diu                | 6                                                              | 20.49                                                          | 14                                 |
| Lakshdweep                | 26                                                             | 27.1                                                           | 1                                  |
| Puducherry                | 42                                                             | 53.67                                                          | 12                                 |
| Grand Total               | 690,171                                                        | 708,273                                                        | 18,102                             |