Lok Sabha Question No. 266 (STARRED), answered on 2018-01-05
Subject: Depleting Forest Coverage
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: CHANDRA PRAKASH JOSHI, BAIJAYANT "JAY" PANDA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO.  266* TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.01.2018

## Depleting Forest Coverage

## *266.   SHRI CHANDRA PRAKASH JOSHI: SHRI BAIJAYANT JAY PANDA:

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

- (a) whether  the  forest  coverage  of  the  country  has  been  drastically  and  constantly depleting;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  reasons  therefor  along  with  the  steps  taken  by  the Government to address the issue;
- (c) whether the  Government has any plan to involve the private sector  to  increase the forest coverage by encouraging private participation in preservation and conservation of forests and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) whether  the  Government  also  intends  to  give  tax  exemptions  and  compensation  to those people who propose to raise forests in their land under the said plan and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (d) A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

***

## Statement referred to in reply to part (a) to (d) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No.  266  by  Shri  Chandra  Prakash  Joshi  and  Shri  Baijayant  Jay  Panda  due  for reply on 05.01.2018

- (a)&(b) Forest Survey of India, Dehradun, a subordinate organization under Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, has been carrying out the assessment of forest cover of the country biennially. The findings of the assessment are published in India State of  Forest  Report.  As  per  the  latest  report  of  India  State  of  Forest  Report  2015,  the  total forest  cover  of  the  country  is  7,01,673  square  kilometers  which  is  21.34%  of  the  total geographical area of the country. There is a net increase of 3775 square kilometers in the forest  cover  of  the  country  as  compared  with  India  State  of  Forest  Report-2013.  The detailed list showing forest cover and change in forest cover States/UTs wise is Annexed.

According  to  India  State  of  Forest  Reports  published  by  Forest  Survey  of  India,  Forest cover of  the  country  is  showing  increasing  trend.  The  forest  cover  reported  in  last  three India State of forest Reports (ISFR) since 2011 is as follows:-

|   Year | Total Forest Cover in square kilometer   | Percentage of forest cover to the total geographical area.   | Percentage increase in respect of the previous report   |
|--------|------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------|
|   2011 | 692,027                                  | 21.05%                                                       | -                                                       |
|   2013 | 697,898                                  | 21.23%                                                       | 0.18%                                                   |
|   2015 | 701,673                                  | 21.34%                                                       | 0.11%                                                   |

- (c)  &  (d)   As on date there is no mechanism for involving the private sector to increase the forest coverage  by encouraging private participation in preservation and conservation of forests and also for giving tax exemptions to people who propose to raise forest in their land.

********

## Annexure

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (b) of the Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 266 due for answer on 05.01.2018 regarding 'Depleting Forest Coverage'

Change in Forest Cover in States/UTs as per India State of Forest Report (ISFR)- 2015

## (Area in square Kilometers)

| States/UTs          | Geographical Area   | Total Forest Cover 2015   | Total Forest Cover 2013   |   Change in Forest Cover |   Change Percent |
|---------------------|---------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|--------------------------|------------------|
| Andhra Pradesh      | 1,60,204            | 24,424                    | 24,357                    |                    67    |             0.27 |
| Arunachal Pradesh   | 83,743              | 67,248                    | 67321                     |                   -73    |            -0.11 |
| Assam               | 78,438              | 27,623                    | 27671                     |                   -48    |            -0.17 |
| Bihar               | 94,163              | 7,288                     | 7291                      |                    -3    |            -0.04 |
| Chhattisgarh        | 1,35,191            | 55,586                    | 55621                     |                   -35    |            -0.06 |
| Delhi               | 1,483               | 189                       | 180                       |                     9    |             4.75 |
| Goa                 | 3,702               | 2,224                     | 2219                      |                     5    |             0.22 |
| Gujarat             | 1,96,022            | 14,660                    | 14653                     |                     7    |             0.05 |
| Haryana             | 44,212              | 1,584                     | 1586                      |                    -2    |            -0.13 |
| Himachal Pradesh    | 55,673              | 14,696                    | 14683                     |                    13    |             0.09 |
| Jammu & Kashmir     | 2,22,236            | 22,988                    | 22538                     |                   450    |             1.96 |
| Jharkhand           | 79,714              | 23,478                    | 23473                     |                     5    |             0.02 |
| Karnataka           | 1,91,791            | 36,421                    | 36132                     |                   289    |             0.79 |
| Kerala              | 38,863              | 19,239                    | 17922                     |                  1317    |             6.85 |
| Madhya Pradesh      | 3,08,245            | 77,462                    | 77522                     |                   -60    |            -0.08 |
| Maharashtra         | 3,07,713            | 50,628                    | 50632                     |                    -4    |            -0.01 |
| Manipur             | 22,327              | 16,994                    | 16990                     |                     4    |             0.02 |
| Meghalaya           | 22,429              | 17,217                    | 17288                     |                   -71    |            -0.41 |
| Mizoram             | 21,081              | 18,748                    | 19054                     |                  -306    |            -1.63 |
| Nagaland            | 16,579              | 12,966                    | 13044                     |                   -78    |            -0.6  |
| Odisha              | 1,55,707            | 50,354                    | 50347                     |                     7    |             0.01 |
| Punjab              | 50,362              | 1,771                     | 1772                      |                    -1    |            -0.06 |
| Rajasthan           | 3,42,239            | 16,171                    | 16086                     |                    85    |             0.53 |
| Sikkim              | 7,096               | 3,357                     | 3358                      |                    -1    |            -0.03 |
| Tamil Nadu          | 1,30,058            | 26,345                    | 23844                     |                  2501    |             9.49 |
| Telangana           | 114,865             | 21,591                    | 21759                     |                  -168    |            -0.78 |
| Tripura             | 10,486              | 7,811                     | 7866                      |                   -55    |            -0.7  |
| Uttar Pradesh       | 2,40,928            | 14,461                    | 14349                     |                   112    |             0.77 |
| Uttarakhand         | 53,483              | 24,240                    | 24508                     |                  -268    |            -1.11 |
| West Bengal         | 88,752              | 16,828                    | 16805                     |                    23    |             0.14 |
| A&N Islands         | 8,249               | 6,751                     | 6711                      |                    40    |             0.59 |
| Chandigarh          | 114                 | 22,.03                    | 17.26                     |                     4.77 |            21.65 |
| Dadra &Nagar Haveli | 491                 | 206                       | 213                       |                    -7    |            -3.4  |
| Daman &Diu          | 112                 | 19.61                     | 9                         |                    10.61 |            52.73 |
| Lakshadweep         | 32                  | 27.06                     | 27.06                     |                     0    |             0    |
| Puducherry Grand    | 480                 | 55.38                     | 50.06                     |                     5.32 |             9.61 |
| Total               | 32,87,263           | 701,673                   | 697898                    |                  3775    |             0.54 |