Lok Sabha Question No. 2490 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-09
Subject: Loss of Forest Cover in North-Eastern States
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: THOKCHOM MEINYA

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  2490

TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.03.2018

## Loss of Forest Cover in North-Eastern States

## 2490. DR. THOKCHOM  MEINYA:

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

- (a) whether the forest cover in all the North- East States  except Assam and  Manipur is fast depleting;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether Jhum farming is still a major cause of  loss of forest  cover in the  North-East States and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the Ministry has  any alternative plan to replace Jhum farming by  horticulture with full incentive and compensation to the  Jhum  farmers and if so, details  thereof; and
- (e) whether his Ministry has taken up the matter with the respective State Governments and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) & (b)    As per the latest 'India State of Forest Report 2017 (ISFR-2017)' published  by Forest Survey of India, Dehradun, the total forest cover in the  North Eastern Region of the country  is 1,71,306 square kilometers which is 65.34 per cent of the geographical  area of the region. The forest  cover  in  the  North  Eastern  region  shows  a  decrease  of  630  square  kilometers  over  the updated India State of Forest Report 2015. Except Assam and Manipur, all North Eastern states namely  Arunachal  Pradesh,  Meghalaya,  Mizoram,  Nagaland,  Sikkim  and  Tripura  have  shown negative change in forest cover.  The state wise details of change in forest cover of North Eastern states is given in Annexure.
- (c) The  major  causes  of  loss  of  forest  cover  in  the  North  Eastern  states  is  attributed  to shifting cultivation and biotic pressure prevalent in the region.
- (d) & (e)  There is no proposal in the Ministry to replace Jhum farming with Horticulture with full incentive and compensation to Jhum farmers.

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Annexure

Annexure  referred  to    in  reply  to  the  part  (a)  to  (b)  of  Lok  Sabha  Unstarred  Question No.2490  due  for  reply  on  09.03.2018  regarding  'Loss  of  Forest  Cover  in  North-Eastern States'.

## Forest Cover in North Eastern States

(Area in sq. km)

| Sl No.   | State             |   Geographical Area |   Total Forest Cover As per ISFR- 2015 (Updated) |   Total Forest Cover As per ISFR -2017 |   Change |
|----------|-------------------|---------------------|--------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|----------|
| 1        | Arunachal Pradesh |               83743 |                                            67154 |                                  66964 |     -190 |
| 2        | Assam             |               78438 |                                            27538 |                                  28105 |      567 |
| 3        | Manipur           |               22327 |                                            17083 |                                  17346 |      263 |
| 4        | Meghalaya         |               22429 |                                            17262 |                                  17146 |     -116 |
| 5        | Mizoram           |               21081 |                                            18717 |                                  18186 |     -531 |
| 6        | Nagaland          |               16579 |                                            12939 |                                  12489 |     -450 |
| 7        | Sikkim            |                7096 |                                             3353 |                                   3344 |       -9 |
| 8        | Tripura           |               10486 |                                             7890 |                                   7726 |     -164 |
|          | Grand Total       |              262179 |                                           171936 |                                 171306 |     -630 |

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