Lok Sabha Question No. 2842 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-08-03
Subject: Notified Forest Area
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: RAJESH KUMAR DIWAKAR

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  2842 TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.08.2018

## Notified Forest Area

## 2842.    SHRI RAJESH KUMAR DIWAKER:

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

- (a) the total notified forest area in the country in each State especially Uttar Pradesh and its Hathras  region  along  with  the  measures  being  taken  for development,  upgradation  and conservation of forest areas of the State;
- (b) the cases of encroachments and mining activities pertaining to these areas notified during the last three years and the current year along with the action taken by the Government in this regard;
- (c) whether illegal forest/trees  cutting  instances  have taken  place  in  these  areas  during  the said period and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the steps taken/likely to be taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) As per India State of Forest Report (ISFR)-2017, the total Recorded Forest Area (RFA) of the  country  is  7,67,419  square  kilometers  of  which  Uttar  Pradesh  has  an  area  of  16582 square kilometers with Recorded Forest Area as per Annexure 1 .  The  total  district-wise forest  cover  of  Uttar  Pradesh  including  Mahamaya  Nagar  (Hathras  region)  is  given  in Annexure-II .  The  forest  in  the  State  is  managed  by  State  Forest  Department  as  per  the Working Plan for development, upgradation and conservation of forest area.
- (b), (c) & (d)     The mining proposal approved under Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 in last three years alongwith area  diverted  is  given  in Annexure-III .  As  per  information  received  from  the  State  Forest Department of Uttar Pradesh, a total of 25802.079 hectare of forest area is under encroachment. The State Forest Department of Uttar Pradesh has also informed that no large scale illegal felling of  trees  has  taken  place  in  Hathras  Forest  Division.  State/UT  Governments  take  appropriate measures for protection of forest from various threats including encroachment and illegal felling which also includes legal measures as per the provisions of Indian ForestAct-1927, Wildlife  Protection  Act-1972  and  various  State  specific  Acts  &  Rules  and  regulations made there under. The State Government is competent to deal with illegal forest or tree cutting  under  Indian  Forest  Act-1927.  The State  Forest  Departments are  responsible  for ensuring that trees are not felled illegally in the state and take appropriate action as per provisions of various Central and State Acts and  rules and regulations made thereunder.

******

Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2842 due for answer on 03.08.2018 regarding 'Notified Forest Area'

## Recorded Forest Areas (RFAs) in States and UTs as per ISFR-2017.

(Area in sq km)

| State/ UT            | Geographical Area (GA)   | RFA (as revised by SFDs)   | RFA (as revised by SFDs)   | RFA (as revised by SFDs)   | Total RFA (2017)   | % of GA   |
|----------------------|--------------------------|----------------------------|----------------------------|----------------------------|--------------------|-----------|
| State/ UT            | Geographical Area (GA)   | RF                         | PF                         | Unclassed Forests          |                    |           |
| Andhra Pradesh       | 162968                   | 31,959                     | 5069                       | 230                        | 37258              | 22.86     |
| Arunachal Pradesh    | 83,743                   | 10,589                     | 9,779                      | 31,039                     | 51,407             | 61.39     |
| Assam                | 78,438                   | 17,864                     | 0                          | 8,968                      | 26,832             | 34.21     |
| Bihar                | 94163                    | 693                        | 6183                       | 1                          | 6877               | 7.30      |
| Chhattisgarh         | 135192                   | 25,782                     | 24036                      | 9954                       | 59772              | 44.21     |
| Delhi                | 1,483                    | 78                         | 24                         | 0                          | 102                | 6.88      |
| Goa                  | 3,702                    | 253                        | 0                          | 972                        | 1225               | 33.09     |
| Gujarat              | 196,244                  | 14,373                     | 2886                       | 4388                       | 21647              | 11.03     |
| Haryana              | 44,212                   | 249                        | 1158                       | 152                        | 1559               | 3.53      |
| Himachal Pradesh     | 55,673                   | 1,898                      | 33130                      | 2005                       | 37033              | 66.52     |
| Jammu & Kashmir      | 222,236                  | 17,643                     | 2551                       | 36                         | 20230              | 9.10      |
| Jharkhand            | 79,716                   | 4,387                      | 19185                      | 33                         | 23605              | 29.61     |
| Karnataka            | 191,791                  | 28,690                     | 3931                       | 5663                       | 38284              | 19.96     |
| Kerala               | 38,852                   | 11,309                     | 0                          | 0                          | 11309              | 29.11     |
| Madhya Pradesh       | 308,252                  | 61,886                     | 31098                      | 1705                       | 94689              | 30.72     |
| Maharashtra          | 307,713                  | 49,546                     | 6733                       | 5300                       | 61579              | 20.01     |
| Manipur              | 22,327                   | 1,467                      | 4,171                      | 11,780                     | 17,418             | 78.01     |
| Meghalaya            | 22,429                   | 1,113                      | 12                         | 8,371                      | 9,496              | 42.34     |
| Mizoram              | 21,081                   | 4,483                      | 0                          | 1,158                      | 5,641              | 26.76     |
| Nagaland             | 16,579                   | 234                        | 0                          | 8,389                      | 8,623              | 52.01     |
| Odisha               | 155,707                  | 36049                      | 25133                      | 22                         | 61204              | 39.31     |
| Punjab               | 50,362                   | 44                         | 1137                       | 1903                       | 3084               | 6.12      |
| Rajasthan            | 342,239                  | 12475                      | 18217                      | 2045                       | 32737              | 9.57      |
| Sikkim               | 7,096                    | 5452                       | 389                        | 0                          | 5,841              | 82.31     |
| Tamil Nadu           | 130,060                  | 20293                      | 1782                       | 802                        | 22877              | 17.59     |
| Telangana            | 112,077                  | 20353                      | 5939                       | 612                        | 26904              | 24.00     |
| Tripura              | 10,486                   | 4175                       | 2                          | 2,117                      | 6,294              | 60.02     |
| Uttar Pradesh        | 240,928                  | 12071                      | 1157                       | 3354                       | 16582              | 6.88      |
| Uttarakhand          | 53,483                   | 26547                      | 9885                       | 1568                       | 38000              | 71.05     |
| West Bengal          | 88,752                   | 7054                       | 3772                       | 1053                       | 11879              | 13.38     |
| A&N Islands          | 8,249                    | 5613                       | 1558                       | 0                          | 7171               | 86.93     |
| Chandigarh           | 114                      | 32                         | 0                          | 3                          | 35                 | 30.70     |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli | 491                      | 199                        | 5                          | 0                          | 204                | 41.55     |
| Daman & Diu          | 111                      | 0                          | 0                          | 8                          | 8                  | 7.21      |
| Lakshadweep          | 30                       | 0                          | 0                          | 0                          | 0                  | 0.00      |
| Puducherry           | 490                      | 0                          | 2                          | 11                         | 13                 | 2.65      |
| Total                | 32,87,469                |                            | 2,19,432                   | 1,13,881                   | 7,67,419           | 23.34     |

Source: State Forest Departments

Annexure II

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2842 due for answer on 03.08.2018 regarding 'Notified Forest Area'

## District- wise Forest Cover in Uttar Pradesh as per ISFR-2017

(area in sq km)

|                     | Geo- graphical   | 2017 Assessment   | 2017 Assessment   | 2017 Assessment   | 2017 Assessment   | %     | Change *   | Scrub   |
|---------------------|------------------|-------------------|-------------------|-------------------|-------------------|-------|------------|---------|
| District            | Area             | Very Dense Forest | Mod. Dense Forest | Open Forest       | Total             | of GA |            |         |
| Agra                | 4,041            | 0                 | 63                | 209               | 272               | 6.73  | 4          | 64      |
| Aligarh             | 3,650            | 0                 | 7                 | 60                | 67                | 1.84  | 2          | 1       |
| Allahabad           | 5,482            | 6                 | 26                | 95                | 127               | 2.32  | 20         | 36      |
| Ambedkarnagar       | 2,350            | 0                 | 1                 | 40                | 41                | 1.74  | 1          | 0       |
| Auraiya             | 2,016            | 0                 | 5                 | 36                | 41                | 2.03  | 3          | 9       |
| Azamgarh            | 4,054            | 0                 | 1                 | 49                | 50                | 1.23  | 0          | 0       |
| Baghpat             | 1,321            | 0                 | 5                 | 12                | 17                | 1.29  | -1         | 0       |
| Bahraich            | 5,237            | 240               | 156               | 153               | 549               | 10.48 | 2          | 9       |
| Ballia              | 2,981            | 0                 | 0                 | 22                | 22                | 0.74  | -1         | 0       |
| Balrampur           | 3,349            | 279               | 154               | 91                | 524               | 15.65 | 0          | 3       |
| Banda               | 4,408            | 0                 | 56                | 46                | 102               | 2.31  | 1          | 4       |
| Bara Banki          | 4,402            | 3                 | 6                 | 68                | 77                | 1.75  | -1         | 5       |
| Bareilly            | 4,120            | 0                 | 7                 | 38                | 45                | 1.09  | 1          | 0       |
| Basti               | 2,688            | 1                 | 6                 | 22                | 29                | 1.08  | -1         | 0       |
| Bijnor              | 4,561            | 39                | 215               | 148               | 402               | 8.81  | -15        | 4       |
| Budaun              | 5,168            | 0                 | 11                | 34                | 45                | 0.87  | 3          | 6       |
| Bulandshahr         | 4,512            | 0                 | 50                | 116               | 166               | 3.68  | -1         | 0       |
| Chandauli           | 2,541            | 7                 | 192               | 366               | 565               | 22.24 | 1          | 10      |
| Chitrakoot          | 3,216            | 81                | 319               | 186               | 586               | 18.22 | 14         | 37      |
| Deoria              | 2,540            | 0                 | 1                 | 14                | 15                | 0.59  | -1         | 0       |
| Etah                | 2,431            | 0                 | 1                 | 30                | 31                | 1.28  | -3         | 0       |
| Etawah              | 2,311            | 0                 | 62                | 180               | 242               | 10.47 | 21         | 40      |
| Faizabad            | 2,341            | 6                 | 10                | 70                | 86                | 3.67  | 7          | 0       |
| Farrukhabad         | 2,181            | 0                 | 14                | 33                | 47                | 2.15  | 0          | 2       |
| Fatehpur            | 4,152            | 0                 | 18                | 35                | 53                | 1.28  | 3          | 0       |
| Firozabad           | 2,407            | 0                 | 5                 | 44                | 49                | 2.04  | 0          | 24      |
| Gautam Buddha Nagar | 1,282            | 0                 | 5                 | 15                | 20                | 1.56  | 2          | 0       |
| Ghaziabad           | 1,179            | 0                 | 9                 | 17                | 26                | 2.21  | 1          | 0       |
| Ghazipur            | 3,377            | 0                 | 1                 | 28                | 29                | 0.86  | 0          | 0       |

| District                    | Geo- graphical Area   | 2017 Assessment   | 2017 Assessment   | 2017 Assessment   | 2017 Assessment   | % of GA    | Change *   | Scrub   |
|-----------------------------|-----------------------|-------------------|-------------------|-------------------|-------------------|------------|------------|---------|
| District                    | Geo- graphical Area   | Very Dense Forest | Mod. Dense Forest | Open Forest       | Total             |            |            |         |
| Gonda                       | 4,003                 | 67                | 8                 | 39                | 114               | 2.85       | -2         | 0       |
| Gorakhpur                   | 3,321                 | 28                | 23                | 28                | 79                | 2.38       | 3          | 0       |
| Hamirpur                    | 4,021                 | 0                 | 80                | 147               | 227               | 5.65       | 50         | 14      |
| Hardoi                      | 5,986                 | 0                 | 17                | 127               | 144               | 2.41       | 17         | 5       |
| Jalaun                      | 4,565                 | 0                 | 61                | 188               | 249               | 5.45       | 4          | 36      |
| Jaunpur                     | 4,038                 | 0                 | 11                | 56                | 67                | 1.66       | -1         | 0       |
| Jhansi                      | 5,024                 | 0                 | 42                | 261               | 303               | 6.03       | 88         | 40      |
| JyotibaPhule Nagar          | 2,249                 | 0                 | 25                | 61                | 86                | 3.82       | 1          | 0       |
| Kannauj                     | 2,093                 | 0                 | 0                 | 28                | 28                | 1.34       | 1          | 0       |
| Kanpur Dehat                | 3,021                 | 0                 | 3                 | 38                | 41                | 1.36       | -6         | 9       |
| Kanpur Nagar                | 3,155                 | 0                 | 7                 | 59                | 66                | 2.09       | 2          | 3       |
| Kanshiram Nagar             | 1,955                 | 0                 | 9                 | 59                | 68                | 3.48       | 4          | 0       |
| Kaushambi                   | 1,779                 | 0                 | 5                 | 22                | 27                | 1.52       | 0          | 0       |
| Kheri T                     | 7,680                 | 805               | 158               | 311               | 1,274             | 16.59      | -24        | 4       |
| Kushinagar                  | 2,905                 | 0                 | 2                 | 32                | 34                | 1.17       | -1         | 0       |
| Lalitpur                    | 5,039                 | 0                 | 129               | 458               | 587               | 11.65      | 15         | 31      |
| Lucknow                     | 2,528                 | 0                 | 162               | 203               | 365               | 14.44      | 39         | 2       |
| Mahamaya Nagar              | 1,840                 | 0                 | 1                 | 22                | 23                | 1.25       | -1         | 0       |
| Mahoba                      | 3,144                 | 0                 | 21                | 149               | 170               | 5.41       | 77         | 62      |
| Mahrajganj                  | 2,952                 | 259               | 101               | 69                | 429               | 14.53      | -2         | 0       |
| Mainpuri                    | 2,760                 | 0                 | 1                 | 13                | 14                | 0.51       | -1         | 0       |
| Mathura                     | 3,340                 | 0                 | 4                 | 56                | 60                | 1.8        | 5          | 3       |
| Mau                         | 1,713                 | 0                 | 0                 | 11                | 11                | 0.64       | 0          | 0       |
| Meerut                      | 2,559                 | 0                 | 34                | 34                | 68                | 2.66       | 1          | 0       |
| Mirzapur                    | 4,405                 | 8                 | 290               | 507               | 805               | 18.27      | -33        | 47      |
| Moradabad                   | 3,718                 | 0                 | 5                 | 23                | 28                | 0.75       | -1         | 0       |
| Muzaffarnagar               | 4,008                 | 0                 | 14                | 26                | 40                | 1          | 1          | 0       |
| Pilibhit                    | 3,686                 | 471               | 86                | 131               | 688               | 18.67      | -11        | 2       |
| Pratapgarh                  | 3,717                 | 0                 | 29                | 73                | 102               | 2.74       | 6          | 2       |
| Rae Bareli                  | 4,609                 | 0                 | 4                 | 89                | 93                | 2.02       | -7         | 1       |
| Rampur                      | 2,367                 | 4                 | 26                | 45                | 75                | 3.17       | 1          | 0       |
| Saharanpur                  | 3,689                 | 0                 | 174               | 199               | 373               | 10.11      | -1         | 0       |
| SantKabir Nagar             | 1,646                 | 0                 | 1                 | 13                | 14                | 0.85       | 0          | 1       |
| SantRavidas Nagar (Bhadohi) | 1,015                 | 0                 | 0                 | 3                 | 3                 | 0.3        | 0          | 0       |
| Shahjahanpur                | 4,388                 | 26                | 7                 | 28                | 61                | 1.39       | -1         | 1       |
| Shrawasti                   | 1,640                 | 152               | 85                | 48                | 285               |            | -3         | 0       |
| Siddharthnagar              | 2,895                 | 0                 | 8                 | 26                | 34                | 17.38 1.17 | 0          | 0       |
| Sitapur                     | 5,743                 | 0                 | 19                | 190               | 209               | 3.64       | -7         | 6       |
| Sonbhadra                   | 6,905                 | 130               | 967               | 1,442             | 2,539             | 36.77      | -17        | 28      |

|           | Geo- graphical Area   | 2017 Assessment   | 2017 Assessment   | 2017 Assessment   | 2017 Assessment   | % of GA   | Change *   | Scrub   |
|-----------|-----------------------|-------------------|-------------------|-------------------|-------------------|-----------|------------|---------|
| District  |                       | Very Dense Forest | Mod. Dense Forest | Open Forest       | Total             |           |            |         |
| Sultanpur | 4,436                 | 5                 | 15                | 184               | 204               | 4.6       | 18         | 0       |
| Unnao     | 4,558                 | 0                 | 28                | 222               | 250               | 5.48      | 1          | 0       |
| Varanasi  | 1,535                 | 0                 | 1                 | 16                | 17                | 1.11      | 1          | 0       |
| Total     | 2,40,928              | 2,617             | 4,069             | 7,993             | 14,679            | 6.09      | 278        | 551     |

* Change compared to updated 2015 assessment.

Annexure referred to in reply to part (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2842 due for answer on 03.08.2018 regarding 'Notified Forest Area'

## Statement Showing Cases (State wise and Calander Year wise) For Diversion Of Forest Land under Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 in last three years and the current year

Category :

Mining

During the Period :

01/01/2015 to 01/08/2018

Case Status :

Stage-II

| S. No.              |    | 2015         | 2015          | 2016         | 2016          | 2017         | 2017          | 2018         | 2018          | Total        | Total         |
|---------------------|----|--------------|---------------|--------------|---------------|--------------|---------------|--------------|---------------|--------------|---------------|
| STATE/UT            |    | No. of Cases | Area Diverted | No. of Cases | Area Diverted | No. of Cases | Area Diverted | No. of Cases | Area Diverted | No. of Cases | Area Diverted |
| Andaman and Nicobar | 0  | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0.00         | 1             |
| Andhra Pradesh      | 2  | 1220         | 3             | 13           | 2             | 9            | 0             | 0            | 7             | 1241.69      | 2             |
| Arunachal Pradesh   | 0  | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0.00         | 3             |
| Assam               | 0  | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0.00         | 4             |
| Bihar               | 0  | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0.00         | 5             |
| Chandigarh          | 0  | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0.00         | 6             |
| Chhattisgarh        | 5  | 895          | 2             | 292          | 4             | 502          | 3             | 393          | 14            | 2083.13      | 7             |
| Dadar &Nagar Haveli | 0  | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0.00         | 8             |
| Daman and Diu       | 0  | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0.00         | 9             |
| Delhi               | 0  | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0.00         | 10            |
| Goa                 | 0  | 0            | 0             | 0            | 1             | 17           | 0             | 0            | 1             | 17.31        | 11            |
| Gujarat             | 0  | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0.00         | 12            |
| Haryana             | 0  | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0.00         | 13            |
| Himachal Pradesh    | 1  | 84           | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 1             | 84.36        | 14            |
| Jammu and Kashmir   | 0  | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0.00         | 15            |
| Jharkhand           | 1  | 75           | 3             | 239          | 0             | 0            | 1             | 0            | 5             | 314.16       | 16            |
| Karnataka           | 1  | 1            | 3             | 147          | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 4             | 147.65       | 17            |
| Kerala              | 0  | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0.00         | 18            |
| Lakshadweep         | 0  | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0.00         | 19            |
| Madhya Pradesh      | 3  | 73           | 5             | 231          | 3             | 210          | 2             | 535          | 13            | 1049.72      | 20            |
| Maharashtra         | 0  | 0            | 0             | 0            | 6             | 482          | 0             | 0            | 6             | 482.00       | 21            |

| S. No.        | STATE/UT   | 2015         | 2015          | 2016         | 2016          | 2017         | 2017          | 2018         | 2018          | Total        | Total         |
|---------------|------------|--------------|---------------|--------------|---------------|--------------|---------------|--------------|---------------|--------------|---------------|
| S. No.        | STATE/UT   | No. of Cases | Area Diverted | No. of Cases | Area Diverted | No. of Cases | Area Diverted | No. of Cases | Area Diverted | No. of Cases | Area Diverted |
| Manipur       | 0          | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0.00         | 22            |
| Meghalaya     | 1          | 138          | 0             | 0            | 1             | 5            | 0             | 0            | 2             | 142.93       | 23            |
| Mizoram       | 0          | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0.00         | 24            |
| Nagaland      | 0          | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0.00         | 25            |
| Orissa        | 6          | 902          | 8             | 737          | 4             | 632          | 6             | 1479         | 24            | 3750.00      | 26            |
| Pondicherry   | 0          | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0.00         | 27            |
| Punjab        | 0          | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0.00         | 28            |
| Rajasthan     | 1          | 115          | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 1             | 114.94       | 29            |
| Sikkim        | 0          | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0.00         | 30            |
| Tamil Nadu    | 0          | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0.00         | 31            |
| Telangana     | 1          | 477          | 1             | 10           | 4             | 1443         | 1             | 125          | 7             | 2055.30      | 32            |
| Tripura       | 0          | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0.00         | 33            |
| Uttar Pradesh | 0          | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0.00         | 34            |
| Uttarakhand   | 0          | 0            | 1             | 35           | 0             | 0            | 0             | 0            | 1             | 35.36        | 35            |
| West Bengal   | 0          | 0            | 2             | 168          | 2             | 90           | 0             | 0            | 4             | 257.95       | 36            |
| TOTAL         | TOTAL      | 22           | 3980.49       | 28           | 1872.97       | 27           | 3389.87 13    | 2533.16      |               | 90           | 11776.49      |