Lok Sabha Question No. 1191 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-06-28
Subject: Reduction in Forest Area
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Ajay Nishad

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  1191

TO BE ANSWERED ON 28.06.2019

## Reduction in Forest Area

## 1191.    SHRI AJAY NISHAD:

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

- (a) whether forest area in the country is reducing rapidly and is continuously in a state of decline;
- (b) if so, the details thereof along with the reasons therefor;
- (c) the steps taken by the Government to address the said issue;
- (d) whether  the  Government  has  any  scheme  to  include  the  private  sector  to  increase  the forest area by including private land under forestation programmes and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) whether the Government proposes to provide tax relief and compensation to those people who are willing to promote forest cover on their land under the said scheme and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE    IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI BABUL SUPRIYO)

is

- (a) &  (b)    No,  Sir.  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. ISFR2017, the total forest and tree cover in the country 8, 02, 088 square kilometer (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  ISFR2015.    The  State/UTs  wise  details  of  forest  cover  along  with  percentage  as  per ISFR-2017 is given in Annexure.
- (c) For  conservation,  development  and  enrichment  of  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.

To compensate the loss of forest for development works, compensatory afforestation is undertaken on non-forest land and degraded forest land from the funds collected from the user agencies and deposited in the Compensatory Afforestation Fund. In addition net present value of the forest land diverted is also deposited in Compensatory  Afforestation  Fund  and  utilized  for  additional  afforestation  and allied forestry activities for eco-restoration of the loss due to forest diversion.

- (d)          Private  Sector  is  taking  up  afforestation  programme  on  areas  outside  forests, largely    in  partnership  with  farmers  and  other  land  owners.  The  National  Forest Policy, 1988 provides that as far as possible, a forest-based industry should raise the raw material needed for meeting its own requirements, preferably by establishment of a direct relationship between the factory and the individuals who can grow the raw  material  by  supporting  the  individuals  with  inputs  including  credit,  constant technical advice and finally harvesting and transport services.
- (e)          There is no such proposal to provide tax relief and compensation to those people who are  willing  to  promote  forest  cover  on  their  land  under  consideration  of  this Ministry.

*********

## Annexure

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1191 due for answer on 28.06.2019 regarding 'Reduction in Forest Area' State/UTs wise details of Forest and Tree Cover as per ISFR 2017

(Area in square kilometer)

| State               | Geographic Area   | Forest Cover   |   Tree Cover |   Total Forest and Tree Cover |   Percentage of geographical area |
|---------------------|-------------------|----------------|--------------|-------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
| Andhra Pradesh      | 162968            | 28,147         |         3753 |                      31900    |                             19.57 |
| Arunachal Pradesh   | 83743             | 66,964         |          807 |                      67771    |                             80.93 |
| Assam               | 78438             | 28,105         |         1496 |                      29601    |                             37.74 |
| Bihar               | 94163             | 7,299          |         2263 |                       9562    |                             10.15 |
| Chhattisgarh        | 135192            | 55,547         |         3833 |                      59380    |                             43.92 |
| Delhi               | 1483              | 192.41         |          113 |                        305.41 |                             20.59 |
| Goa                 | 3702              | 2229           |          323 |                       2552    |                             68.94 |
| Gujarat             | 196244            | 14,757         |         8024 |                      22781    |                             11.61 |
| Haryana             | 44212             | 1588           |         1415 |                       3003    |                              6.79 |
| Himachal Pradesh    | 55673             | 15,100         |          822 |                      15922    |                             28.6  |
| Jammu &Kashmir *    | 222236            | 23,241         |         7815 |                      31056    |                             13.97 |
| Jharkhand           | 79716             | 23,553         |         2922 |                      26475    |                             33.21 |
| Karnataka           | 191791            | 37,550         |         5713 |                      43263    |                             22.56 |
| Kerala              | 38852             | 20,321         |         2959 |                      23280    |                             59.92 |
| Madhya Pradesh      | 308252            | 77,414         |         8073 |                      85487    |                             27.73 |
| Maharashtra         | 307713            | 50,682         |         9831 |                      60513    |                             19.67 |
| Manipur             | 22327             | 17,346         |          220 |                      17566    |                             78.68 |
| Meghalaya           | 22429             | 17,146         |          657 |                      17803    |                             79.37 |
| Mizoram             | 21081             | 18,186         |          467 |                      18653    |                             88.48 |
| Nagaland            | 16579             | 12,489         |          379 |                      12868    |                             77.62 |
| Odisha              | 155707            | 51,345         |         3993 |                      55338    |                             35.54 |
| Punjab              | 50362             | 1837           |         1622 |                       3459    |                              6.87 |
| Rajasthan           | 342239            | 16,572         |         8266 |                      24838    |                              7.26 |
| Sikkim              | 7096              | 3344           |           35 |                       3379    |                             47.62 |
| Tamil Nadu          | 130060            | 26,281         |         4671 |                      30952    |                             23.8  |
| Telangana           | 112077            | 20,419         |         2669 |                      23088    |                             20.6  |
| Tripura             | 10486             | 7726           |          215 |                       7941    |                             75.73 |
| Uttar Pradesh       | 240928            | 14,679         |         7442 |                      22121    |                              9.18 |
| Uttarakhand         | 53483             | 24,295         |          767 |                      25062    |                             46.86 |
| West Bengal         | 88752             | 16,847         |         2136 |                      18983    |                             21.39 |
| A&N Islands         | 8249              | 6742           |           35 |                       6777    |                             82.16 |
| Chandigarh          | 114               | 2156           |           10 |                         31.56 |                             27.68 |
| Dadra &Nagar Haveli | 491               | 207            |           30 |                        237    |                             48.27 |
| Daman &Diu          | 111               | 20.49          |           10 |                         30.49 |                             27.47 |
| Lakshadweep         | 30                | 27.10          |            2 |                         29.1  |                             97    |
| Puducherry          | 490               | 53.67          |           27 |                         80.67 |                             16.46 |
| Grand Total         | 32,87,469         | 7,08,273       |        93815 |                     802088    |                             24.39 |