Lok Sabha Question No. 4066 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-01-04
Subject: Increase in Forest Cover
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: BHARATENDRA SINGH, PRATHAP SIMHA, SHOBHA KARANDLAJE

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  4066

TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.01.2019

## Increase in Forest Cover

## 4066.   KUNWAR BHARATENDRA: SHRI PRATHAP SIMHA: KUMARI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE:

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

- (a) the  details  of  the  increase  in  forest  or  tree  cover  required  to  achieve  the  National Determined Contribution;
- (b) whether the forest cover in the country has increased by about 1 percent according to the Indian State of forest Report (ISFR) 2017, if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the details of the area where massive deforestation and forest denudation has taken place during the last three years and the reasons therefor along with the steps taken to check further forest denudation;
- (d) the  progress  in  implementation  of  afforestation  schemes  and  the funds  released  for  the purpose during the last three years;
- (e) the  action  plan  of  the  Government  to  take  up  community  tree  plantation,  dry  land afforestation and  avenue  plantation  along  with  the measures  taken  to  popularise afforestation programmes with the objective of maintaining the ecosystem and increasing the forest area in the country; and
- (f) the  details  of  reserved  forests,  protected  forest  areas,  village  forests  and  unclassified forests?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## (DR. MAHESH SHARMA)

- (a) India  is  committed  to  create  an  additional  carbon  sink  of  2.5  to  3  billion  tonnes  of  CO2 equivalent  through  additional  forest  and  tree  cover  by  2030  as  per  Nationally  Determined Contribution (NDC) under Paris Agreement. India is on track to meet Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) targets under Paris Agreement. The Forest Survey of India estimates carbon  stock  of  forest  by  using  National  Forest  Inventory  data  collected  during  forest inventory and forest cover area following the guidelines given by United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The carbon stock for 2017 has been estimated to be 7083 million tones. There is an increase of 39 million tonnes of carbon stock as compared to the estimates of previous assessment.

The average annual increase of carbon stock is worked out to be around 35 million tonnes. At  this  rate  India  would  reach  around  1.9  billion  tonnes  of  CO2  equivalent  by  2030.  The shortfall  of  about  0.6  to  1.1  billion  tonnes  of  CO2  equivalent  can  also  be  achieved  by  (a)

improving  the  density  of  natural  forests  and  (b)  raising  plantation  in  available  non-forest lands and on available wasteland.

- (b) Forest Survey of India, Dehradun, a subordinate organization under the Ministry 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  in  the  country  is  8,02,088  square  kilometers  (forest  cover  708273  square kilometer, tree cover 93815 square kilometer) which is 24.39% of the geographical area of the  country.    There  is  an  increase  of  8021  square  kilometer  (forest  cover  6778  square kilometer, tree cover 1243 square kilometer) of total forest and tree cover compared to that of ISFR-2015 which is about 1% of total forest and tree cover in the country.
- (c) For various developmental activities in the country, permission for diversion of the forest is granted by the Central Government under Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. The forest land diverted  under  Forest  Conservation  Act,  1980  during  the  period  from  01.01.2015  to 11.12.2018 is 52338.75 hectares. The State/UTs wise details are  given in Annexure-I .  To compensate  for  the  loss  of  forest  cover,  compensatory  afforestation  on  equal  area  of  nonforest land and degraded forest land is taken up by the State Government .
- (d) & (e) To further increase the forest 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), Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) and Compensatory Afforestation Fund. National Mission for a Green India (GIM) is one of the eight  Missions  outlined  under  the  National  Action  Plan  on  Climate  Change.  It  aims  at protecting, restoring and enhancing India's forest cover and responding to Climate Change. GIM activities were started in the Financial Year 2015-16.

National  Afforestation  Programme  (NAP) of the Ministry  of Environment  &  Forests  is  a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for afforestation and eco-restoration of degraded forests and adjoining areas through people's participation.  The State/UTs-wise details of funds released under Compensatory Afforestation Funds, Green India Mission and National Afforestation Programme for the last three years and current year are given in Annexure-II, III and IV respectively.

- (f) As per India State of Forest Report-2017 published by Forest Survey of India, Dehradun, the State/UT wise details of reserved forests, protected forests areas and unclassified forests are given in Annexure-V . The Ministry does not maintain the information of village forests.

************

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (c) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 4066 due for answer on 04.01.2019 regarding ' Increase in Forest cover'

## Statement Showing Cases For State/UTs wise diversion of Forest Land in Under FC Act 1980 during the period 01.01.2015 to 11.12.2018.

(Area in hectares)

| S. No.      | States/UTs          |   No. of Cases |   Area Diverted |
|-------------|---------------------|----------------|-----------------|
| 1           | Andaman and Nicobar |              6 |           20.14 |
| 2           | Andhra Pradesh      |             34 |         3474.57 |
| 3           | Arunachal Pradesh   |             12 |          451.37 |
| 4           | Assam               |              0 |            0    |
| 5           | Bihar               |            117 |         1125.22 |
| 6           | Chandigarh          |              2 |            0.39 |
| 7           | Chhattisgarh        |             35 |         3770.87 |
| 8           | Dadar &Nagar Haveli |              9 |            5.4  |
| 9           | Daman and Diu       |              0 |            0    |
| 10          | Delhi               |              1 |           12    |
| 11          | Goa                 |              8 |           42.75 |
| 12          | Gujarat             |            106 |         2008.07 |
| 13          | Haryana             |            895 |         1470.27 |
| 14          | Himachal Pradesh    |            115 |          781.88 |
| 15          | Jammu and Kashmir   |              0 |            0    |
| 16          | Jharkhand           |             30 |          685.9  |
| 17          | Karnataka           |             60 |          784.75 |
| 18          | Kerala              |              8 |           15.82 |
| 19          | Lakshadweep         |              0 |            0    |
| 20          | Madhya Pradesh      |            204 |        12727.6  |
| 21          | Maharashtra         |             32 |         3709.19 |
| 22          | Manipur             |              7 |          263.2  |
| 23          | Meghalaya           |              2 |          142.93 |
| 24          | Mizoram             |              1 |            0.24 |
| 25          | Nagaland            |              0 |            0    |
| 26          | Orissa              |             57 |         4968.28 |
| 27          | Pondicherry         |              0 |            0    |
| 28          | Punjab              |            679 |         1294.53 |
| 29          | Rajasthan           |             78 |         2789.97 |
| 30          | Sikkim              |              8 |           24.3  |
| 31          | Tamil Nadu          |             11 |          542.4  |
| 32          | Telangana           |             28 |         7874.02 |
| 33          | Tripura             |              9 |           83.98 |
| 34          | Uttar Pradesh       |              4 |          163.76 |
| 35          | Uttarakhand         |            237 |         2813.77 |
| 36          | West Bengal         |              9 |          291.15 |
| Grand Total | Grand Total         |           2804 |        52338.8  |

Annexure referred to in reply to part (d)& (e) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 4066 due for answer on 04.01.2019 regarding 'Increase in forest cover'

## Details of State/UTs wise funds released under Compensatory Afforestation Funds

|                     | FY-15-16      | FY-16-17      | FY-17-18      | FY-18-19         |
|---------------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|------------------|
| State/UT            | Release (Rs.) | Release (Rs.) | Release (Rs.) | Release (Rs.)    |
| Andhra Pradesh      | 850,000,000   | 890,000,000   | 970,000,000   | 1,044,700,000.00 |
| Andaman Nicobar     | 10,000,000    |               |               |                  |
| Arunachal Pradesh   | 620,000,000   | 1,500,000,000 |               | 3,541,500,000    |
| Assam               |               | 300,000,000   | 700,000,000   | 458,400,000      |
| Bihar               | 341,400,000   | 330,000,000   | 393,100,000   | 376,190,000      |
| Chandigarh          | 21,179,000    | 10,000,000    | 11,300,000    | 12,700,000       |
| Chhattisgarh        | 2,390,000,000 | 2,800,000,000 |               |                  |
| Dadar Nagar Havelli |               |               |               |                  |
| Daman &Diu          |               |               |               |                  |
| Delhi               | 39,100,000    | 40,000,000    |               |                  |
| Goa                 |               |               |               |                  |
| Gujarat             | 330,000,000   | 990,000,000   | 270,000,000   | 2,726,600,000    |
| Haryana             | 640,000,000   | 180,000,000   | 800,000,000   | 1,442,000,000    |
| Himachal Pradesh    | 769,800,000   | 1,320,000,000 | 1,200,000,000 | 1,325,200,000    |
| Jammu Kashmir       | 310,000,000   | 1,020,000,000 | 690,000,000   |                  |
| Jharkhand           | 1,410,000,000 | 1,490,000,000 | 2,340,000,000 | 2,862,500,000    |
| Karnataka           | 600,000,000   | 875,200,000   | 860,000,000   | 1,014,000,000    |
| Kerala              |               |               | 80,000,000    | 146,100,000      |
| Madhya Pradesh      | 2,130,000,000 | 1,400,000,000 | 2,000,000,000 | 2,687,600,000    |
| Maharashtra         | 1,550,000,000 | 2,050,000,000 | 1,990,000,000 | 2,250,000,000    |
| Manipur             | 250,000,000   | 150,000,000   | 295,000,000   | 248,500,000      |
| Meghalaya           | 165,600,000   |               | 70,000,000    |                  |

| Mizoram     | 100,000,000    | 77,300,000     | 68,500,000     |                |
|-------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
| Orissa      | 3,220,000,000  | 4,260,000,000  | 14,940,400,000 | 5,540,000,000  |
| Punjab      | 490,000,000    | 660,000,000    | 640,000,000    | 792,000,000    |
| Rajasthan   | 480,000,000    | 1,410,600,000  | 1,790,000,000  | 1,692,400,000  |
| Sikkim      | 110,000,000    | 90,000,000     |                |                |
| Tamilnadu   | 22,000,000     | 90,000,000     | 126,800,000    |                |
| Telengna    | 760,000,000    | 1,182,180,000  | 1,270,000,000  | 2,373,800,000  |
| Tripura     | 110,000,000    | 120,000,000    | 7,100,000      | 2,309,000,000  |
| UP          | 1,770,000,000  | 1,320,000,000  | 1,230,000,000  | 1,506,000,000  |
| Uttrakhand  | 1,640,000,000  | 1,707,100,000  | 960,000,000    | 3,030,000,000  |
| West Bengal |                | 210,000,000    |                | 212,200,000    |
| Total       | 21,129,079,000 | 26,472,380,000 | 33,702,200,000 | 37,591,390,000 |

## Annexure III

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (d) & (e) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 4066 due for answer on 04.01.2019 regarding ' Increase in Forest cover'

## Details of State wise funds released under Green India Mission.

Rs. in Lakh

| Sl. No.   | States         | 2015-16       | 2015-16       | 2016-17       | 2016-17       | 2017-18       | 2017-18       | 2018-19       | 2018-19       |
|-----------|----------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|
| Sl. No.   | States         | Fund Released | Fund Utilized | Fund Released | Fund Utilized | Fund Released | Fund Utilized | Fund Released | Fund Utilized |
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh | -             | -             | 105.53        | 105.53        | 44.6          | -             | 266.62        | -             |
| 2         | Chhattisgarh   | 2338.55       | 2338.55       | 2023.017      | 2023.017      | 1095.272      | 1095.272      | 536.07        | -             |
| 3         | Karnataka      | 105.53        | 105.53        | 86.853        | 86.853        | 85.734        | -             | 162.339       | -             |
| 4         | Kerala*        | 914.82        | -             | -             | 383.118       | -             | 531.702       | -             | -             |
| 5         | Manipur        | 834.84        | 834.84        | 782.285       | 782.285       | 641.579       | 641.579       | 488.812       | -             |
| 6         | Mizoram        | -             | -             | 988.35        | 988.35        | 2000          | 2000          | -             | -             |
| 7         | Odisha         | 182.92        | 182.92        | 138.964       | 138.964       | 140.556       | 140.556       | 474.334       |               |
| 8         | Punjab*        | 611.53        | -             | -             | 606.11        | 621.73        | -             | -             | -             |
| 9         | Uttarakhand**  | 2020.9        | -             | -             | -             | -             | -             | -             | -             |
| 10        | Sikkim         | -             | -             | -             | -             | -             | -             | 332.36        | -             |
| 11        | Maharashtra    | -             | -             | -             | -             | -             | -             | 1030.188      | -             |
| 12        | Madhya Pradesh | -             | -             | -             | -             | -             | -             | 1022.497      | -             |
| Total     | Total          | 7009.09       | 3461.84       | 4124.999      | 5114.227      | 4629.471      | 4409.109      | 4313.22       | -             |

Note: *Fund were revalidated for utilization in FY 2016-17.

** Fund were revalidated for utilization in FY 2016-17 and FY 2018-19

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (d) & (e) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 4066 due for answer on 04.01.2019 regarding ' Increase in Forest cover'

## Details of  State wise funds released under National Afforestation Programme

|        | State                                     | 2015-16   | 2016-17   | 2017-18   | 2018-19   | (Rs in Crore)   |
|--------|-------------------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------------|
| S. No. |                                           |           |           |           |           | TOTAL           |
| 1      | Andhra Pradesh                            | 0.87      | 1.33      | 3.36      | 4.81      | 5.56            |
| 2      | Bihar                                     | 5.01      | 2.18      | 4.23      | 0.00      | 11.42           |
| 3      | Chhattisgarh                              | 10.20     | 4.92      | 10.86     | 2.64      | 25.98           |
| 4      | Goa                                       | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00            |
| 5      | Gujarat                                   | 8.54      | 4.36      | 0.00      | 0.00      | 12.90           |
| 6      | Haryana                                   | 0.72      | 3.50      | 2.71      | 0.00      | 6.93            |
| 7      | Himachal Pradesh                          | 0.00      |           | 1.72      | 2.92      | 4.64            |
| 8      | Jammu & Kashmir                           | 0.00      |           | 7.20      | 0.00      | 7.20            |
| 9      | Jharkhand                                 | 0.00      |           | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00            |
| 10     | Karnataka                                 | 1.05      | 7.33      | 3.24      | 6.87      | 11.61           |
| 11     | Kerala                                    | 1.02      |           | 0.00      | 0.00      | 1.02            |
| 12     | Madhya Pradesh                            | 9.45      | 4.00      | 8.74      | 7.78      | 22.19           |
| 13     | Maharashtra                               | 14.90     | 4.76      | 6.73      | 15.33     | 26.39           |
| 14     | Orissa                                    | 9.49      | 4.62      | 3.49      | 8.15      | 17.60           |
| 15     | Punjab                                    | 0.00      |           | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00            |
| 16     | Rajasthan                                 | 0.75      |           | 1.40      | 0.00      | 2.15            |
| 17     | Tamil Nadu                                | 1.42      | 1.56      | 0.00      | 2.07      | 2.98            |
| 18     | Telangana                                 | 0.00      |           | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00            |
| 19     | Uttar Pradesh                             | 2.68      | 2.55      | 0.67      | 0.32      | 5.89            |
| 20     | Uttarakhand                               | 3.05      |           | 3.36      | 2.58      | 6.41            |
| 21     | West Bengal                               | 0.00      |           | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00            |
|        | Total (Other States) North Eastern states | 69.16     | 41.10     | 57.71     | 53.47     | 221.44 0.00     |
| 22     | Arunachal Pradesh                         | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.86      | 0.00      | 0.86            |
| 23     | Assam                                     | 2.56      | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00      | 2.56            |
| 24     | Manipur                                   | 3.67      | 1.21      | 3.19      | 4.38      | 12.45           |
| 25     | Meghalaya                                 | 1.35      | 0.00      | 1.65      | 0.74      | 3.74            |
| 26     | Mizoram                                   | 10.17     | 6.74      | 5.80      | 5.90      | 28.61           |
| 27     | Nagaland                                  | 0.00      | 5.21      | 5.85      | 6.41      | 17.47           |
| 28     | Sikkim                                    | 1.52      | 5.09      | 0.00      | 5.98      | 12.59           |
| 29     | Tripura                                   | 5.73      | 0.00      | 4.94      | 0.00      | 10.67           |
|        |                                           | 25.00     | 18.25     | 22.29     | 23.41     | 88.95           |
|        | Total (NE States) G. Total                | 94.16     | 59.35     | 80.00     | 76.88     | 387.27          |

Annexure referred to in reply to part (f) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 4066 due for answer on 04.01.2019 regarding 'Increase in Forest Cover'

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)   | Reserved Forests (RF)      | Protected Forests (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                | 4,34,705                   | 2,19,432                   | 1,13,881                   | 7,67,419           | 23.34     |

Source: State Forest Departments