Lok Sabha Question No. 2528 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-09
Subject: Decrease in Forest Cover
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: PARESH RAWAL, RAJIV PRATAP RUDY, DEVUSINH JESINGBHAI CHAUHAN, KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  2528

TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.03.2018

## Decrease in Forest Cover

2528.

SHRI PARESH RAVAL:

SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY:

SHRI DEVUSINH CHAUHAN:

SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH:

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

- (a) the details of forest areas in the country, State/UT-wise;
- (b) whether there has been decrease in area of forest cover in various States;
- (c) if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise;
- (d) whether the Government proposes to introduce any scheme to increase forest cover area in the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (e) whether the Government is working towards in targeted forest cover under the National forest policy; and
- (f) if so, the details thereof and the achievement made so far in this regard?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (c)    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 24.40% 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). The State/UT-wise details of forest and tree cover including increase/decrease in forest and tree cover are Annexed.

(d) to (f)   To  increase the forest and tree cover in the country, afforestation programmes are being  taken  up  under  various  Centrally  Sponsored  Schemes  such  as  National  Afforestation Programme  (NAP)  and  Green  India  Mission  (GIM)  being  implemented  by  Ministry  of Environment,  Forest  and  Climate  Change.  Afforestation  activities  are  also  taken  up  under various  programmes/funding  sources  such  as  Mahatma  Gandhi  National  Rural  Employment

Guarantee  Scheme  (MGNREGS),  Integrated  Watershed  Management  Programme  (IWMP) which, from 2015-16, has been amalgamated as the Watershed Development Component of the 'Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY)' and under Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA).

As  per  the  National  Forest  Policy,  1988,  33%  of  the  geographical  area  of  the  country  is envisaged to be brought under forest and tree cover. As per ISFR-2017, the total forest and tree cover of the country is 24.40% of the Total Geographical Area.

*********

Annexure Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) to (c) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2528 due for answer

## on 09.03.2018 regarding 'Decrease in Forest Cover'

## Forest Cover in States/UTs in India

## (area in square kilometers)

| State                | Geographic Area   | Total Forest and Tree cover as per ISFR-2017   |   Percent of Geographic area |   Change in forest cover wrt ISFR 2015 updated |   Change Percent |
|----------------------|-------------------|------------------------------------------------|------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|------------------|
| Andhra Pradesh       | 162968            | 28,147                                         |                        17.27 |                                        2141    |             1.31 |
| Arunachal Pradesh    | 83743             | 66,964                                         |                        79.96 |                                        -190    |            -0.23 |
| Assam                | 78438             | 28,105                                         |                        35.83 |                                         567    |             0.72 |
| Bihar                | 94163             | 7,299                                          |                         7.75 |                                          45    |             0.05 |
| Chhattisgarh         | 135192            | 55,547                                         |                        41.09 |                                         -12    |            -0.01 |
| Delhi                | 1483              | 192.41                                         |                        12.97 |                                           3.64 |             0.25 |
| Goa                  | 3702              | 2,229                                          |                        60.21 |                                          19    |             0.51 |
| Gujarat              | 196244            | 14,757                                         |                         7.52 |                                          47    |             0.02 |
| Haryana              | 44212             | 1,588                                          |                         3.59 |                                           8    |             0.02 |
| Himachal Pradesh     | 55673             | 15,100                                         |                        27.12 |                                         393    |             0.71 |
| Jammu & Kashmir *    | 222236            | 23,241                                         |                        10.46 |                                         253    |             0.11 |
| Jharkhand            | 79716             | 23,553                                         |                        29.55 |                                          29    |             0.04 |
| Karnataka            | 191791            | 37,550                                         |                        19.58 |                                        1101    |             0.57 |
| Kerala               | 38852             | 20,321                                         |                        52.3  |                                        1043    |             2.68 |
| Madhya Pradesh       | 308252            | 77,414                                         |                        25.11 |                                         -12    |             0    |
| Maharashtra          | 307713            | 50,682                                         |                        16.47 |                                         -17    |            -0.01 |
| Manipur              | 22327             | 17,346                                         |                        77.69 |                                         263    |             1.18 |
| Meghalaya            | 22429             | 17,146                                         |                        76.45 |                                        -116    |            -0.52 |
| Mizoram              | 21081             | 18,186                                         |                        86.27 |                                        -531    |            -2.52 |
| Nagaland             | 16579             | 12,489                                         |                        75.33 |                                        -450    |            -2.71 |
| Odisha               | 155707            | 51,345                                         |                        32.98 |                                         885    |             0.57 |
| Punjab               | 50362             | 1837                                           |                         3.65 |                                          66    |             0.13 |
| Rajasthan            | 342239            | 16,572                                         |                         4.84 |                                         466    |             0.14 |
| Sikkim               | 7096              | 3,344                                          |                        47.13 |                                          -9    |            -0.13 |
| Tamil Nadu           | 130060            | 26,281                                         |                        20.21 |                                          73    |             0.06 |
| Telangana            | 112077            | 20,419                                         |                        18.22 |                                         565    |             0.5  |
| Tripura              | 10486             | 7,726                                          |                        73.68 |                                        -164    |            -1.56 |
| Uttar Pradesh        | 240928            | 14,679                                         |                         6.09 |                                         278    |             0.12 |
| Uttarakhand          | 53483             | 24,295                                         |                        45.43 |                                          23    |             0.04 |
| West Bengal          | 88752             | 16,847                                         |                        18.98 |                                          21    |             0.02 |
| A&N Islands          | 8249              | 6,742                                          |                        81.73 |                                          -9    |            -0.11 |
| Chandigarh           | 114               | 21.56                                          |                        18.91 |                                          -0.1  |            -0.09 |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli | 491               | 207                                            |                        42.16 |                                           1    |             0.2  |
| Daman & Diu          | 111               | 20.49                                          |                        18.46 |                                           0.88 |             0.79 |
| Lakshadweep          | 30                | 27.10                                          |                        90.33 |                                           0.04 |             0.13 |
| Puducherry           | 490               | 53.67                                          |                        10.95 |                                          -3.28 |            -0.67 |
| Grand Total          | 32,87,469         | 708273                                         |                        21.54 |                                        6778    |             0.21 |