Lok Sabha Question No. 4063 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-19
Subject: Lack of Forest Areas in States
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Pankaj Chowdhary

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  4063

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 19.03.2021

## Lack of Forest Areas in States

## 4063.  SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY:

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

- (a) the details of such areas in the country where there is no forest area or minimal forest area, State/UT-wise;
- (b) whether environmental issues such as air pollution and scarcity of rain are being faced in such areas;
- (c) whether the Government proposes to chalk out a plan for afforestation /tree plantation in such areas; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun, an organization under the Ministry carries out the assessment of forest cover of the country biennially since 1987 and the findings are published in India State of Forest Report (ISFR). As per ISFR 2019, the total forest and tree  cover  of  the  country  is  8,07,276  square  kilometers  which  is  24.56  %  of  the geographical  area  of  the  country.  There  is  an  increase  of  13,209  square  kilometer  of forest  and  tree  cover  at  the  national  level  in  the  ISFR-2019  as  compared  to  the  ISFR2015. The State/UTs wise details of forest and tree cover as per ISFR-2019 is given in Annexure.
- (b) There is no information on directly correlating forest area with air pollution and scarcity of rain. However, in general, forests help in absorbing carbon dioxide and other gaseous pollutants and releasing oxygen, thereby improving air quality. Tree cover also generally helps  in  ground  water  recharge,  thereby,  improving  ground  water  table  and  reducing runoff.
- (c) & (d) Various schemes are being implemented by Central and State Government /  Union Territory  Administration  for  increase  in  forest  cover  of  the  country.  These  include National  Afforestation  Programme  (NAP)  and  Green  India  Mission  (GIM)  being implemented by the 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, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, Compensatory Afforestation Funds under Compensatory Afforestation  Fund  Management  and  Planning  Authority  (CAMPA).  Afforestation activities are also taken up under various schemes of State Government /UT Administration.

The  Ministry  of  Agriculture  and  Farmers  Welfare  is  also  implementing  National Agroforestry  Policy  2014  with  an  objective  to  meet  the  demand  of  timber,  food,  fuel, fodder, fertilizer, fibre and other agroforestry products, conserving the natural resources and forest; protecting the  environment &  providing environmental security; and increasing the forest/tree cover. Also, Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture  (MIDH)  is  a  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  for  the  holistic  growth  of  the horticulture  sector  covering  fruits,  vegetables,  root  &  tuber  crops,  mushrooms,  spices, flowers, aromatic plants, coconut, cashew, cocoa and bamboo.

**********

Annexure

## Annexure referred to reply in part (a) of the LokSabhaUnstarred Question No. 4063 due for answer on 19.03.2021 regarding 'Lack of Forest Areas in States'.

## State/UTs wise details of Forest and Tree Cover as per ISFR 2019

## (Area in square kilometre)

| State/UTs           | Geographic Area   | Forest Cover   |   Percentage of forest cover to geographical area | Tree Cover   |   Percentage of tree cover to geographical area |
|---------------------|-------------------|----------------|---------------------------------------------------|--------------|-------------------------------------------------|
| Andhra Pradesh      | 1,62,968          | 29,137         |                                             17.88 | 3,914        |                                            2.4  |
| Arunachal Pradesh   | 83,743            | 66,688         |                                             79.63 | 848          |                                            1.01 |
| Assam               | 78,438            | 28,327         |                                             36.11 | 1,408        |                                            1.8  |
| Bihar               | 94,163            | 7,306          |                                              7.76 | 2,003        |                                            2.13 |
| Chhattisgarh        | 1,35,192          | 55,611         |                                             41.13 | 4,248        |                                            3.14 |
| Delhi               | 1,483             | 195.44         |                                             13.18 | 129          |                                            8.73 |
| Goa                 | 3,702             | 2,237          |                                             60.43 | 272          |                                            7.34 |
| Gujarat             | 1,96,244          | 14,857         |                                              7.57 | 6,912        |                                            3.52 |
| Haryana             | 44,212            | 1,602          |                                              3.62 | 1,565        |                                            3.54 |
| Himachal Pradesh    | 55,673            | 15,434         |                                             27.72 | 829          |                                            1.49 |
| Jammu &Kashmir      | 2,22,236          | 23,612         |                                             10.62 | 7,944        |                                            3.57 |
| Jharkhand           | 79,716            | 23,611         |                                             29.62 | 2,657        |                                            3.33 |
| Karnataka           | 1,91,791          | 38,575         |                                             20.11 | 6,257        |                                            3.26 |
| Kerala              | 38,852            | 21,144         |                                             54.42 | 2,936        |                                            7.56 |
| Madhya Pradesh      | 3,08,252          | 77,482         |                                             25.14 | 8,339        |                                            2.71 |
| Maharashtra         | 3,07,713          | 50,778         |                                             16.5  | 10,806       |                                            3.51 |
| Manipur             | 22,327            | 16,847         |                                             75.46 | 173          |                                            0.77 |
| Meghalaya           | 22,429            | 17,119         |                                             76.33 | 710          |                                            3.17 |
| Mizoram             | 21,081            | 18,006         |                                             85.41 | 441          |                                            2.09 |
| Nagaland            | 16,579            | 12,486         |                                             75.31 | 362          |                                            2.19 |
| Odisha              | 1,55,707          | 51,619         |                                             33.15 | 4,648        |                                            2.98 |
| Punjab              | 50,362            | 1,849          |                                              3.67 | 1,592        |                                            3.16 |
| Rajasthan           | 3,42,239          | 16,630         |                                              4.86 | 8,112        |                                            2.37 |
| Sikkim              | 7,096             | 3,342          |                                             47.1  | 36           |                                            0.51 |
| Tamil Nadu          | 1,30,060          | 26,364         |                                             20.27 | 4,830        |                                            3.71 |
| Telangana           | 1,12,077          | 20,582         |                                             18.36 | 2,514        |                                            2.24 |
| Tripura             | 10,486            | 7,726          |                                             73.68 | 231          |                                            2.2  |
| Uttar Pradesh       | 2,40,928          | 14,806         |                                              6.15 | 7,342        |                                            3.05 |
| Uttarakhand         | 53,483            | 24,303         |                                             45.44 | 841          |                                            1.57 |
| West Bengal         | 88,752            | 16,902         |                                             19.04 | 2,006        |                                            2.26 |
| A&N Islands         | 8,249             | 6,743          |                                             81.74 | 41           |                                            0.5  |
| Chandigarh          | 114               | 22.03          |                                             19.32 | 25           |                                           22.34 |
| Dadra &Nagar Haveli | 491               | 207            |                                             42.16 | 28           |                                            5.75 |
| Daman &Diu          | 111               | 20.49          |                                             18.46 | 5            |                                            4.87 |
| Lakshadweep         | 30                | 27.10          |                                             90.33 | 0.29         |                                            0.97 |
| Puducherry          | 490               | 52.41          |                                             10.7  | 23           |                                            4.66 |
| Grand Total         | 32,87,469         | 7,12,249       |                                             21.67 | 95,027       |                                            2.89 |