Lok Sabha Question No. 710 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-14
Subject: Forest Land
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: RAJESHBHAI NARANBHAI CHUDASAMA, S.P. MUDDAHANUMEGOWDA

- (d) & (e)

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 710

TO BE ANSWERED ON 14.12.2018

## Forest Land

## 710.  SHRI RAJESHBHAI CHUDASAMA: SHRI S.P. MUDDAHANUME GOWDA:

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

- (a) the details of actual forest land and that encroached by people in the country during the last three years and the current year, State-wise;
- (b) whether any complaint has been received from Karnataka regarding such encroachment by a community;
- (c) if so, the details thereof and the action taken thereon;
- (d) whether any special scheme is being implemented for the States, having less forest land to bring them at par with national average; and
- (e) if so, the details and the estimated amount likely to be spent in this regard?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) (b) The  forest  and  tree  cover  in  the  country  is  assessed  by  Forest  Survey  of  India
- & (c) Dehradun.  As per the latest State Forest Report (ISFR), 2017 the forest and tree cover in the various States/UTs is given as the Annexure -I.

As per the data received from various States/UTs the forest land encroached upon in the various States is as per the Annexure-II.

The control and management of forest land rest with the State Government. The Ministry has written a letter to State/ UTs Government to remove encroachment and ensure that no further encroachment takes place as per the existing acts/rules

The National Forest Policy aims at maintaining one-third of the total land area of the  country  under  forest  cover.  Various  schemes  are  launched  by  the  State/UTs Government  to  increase  the  forest  cover  in  the  respective  State/UTs      to  bring forest area in the state at par with national average.

In order, to increase the forest cover in the country, afforestation programmes are taken up under various Centrally Sponsored Schemes such as National Afforestation Programme (NAP), Green India Mission (GIM), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Integrated Watershed  Management  Programme  (IWMP)  which  from  2015-16  has  been amalgamated as the Watershed Development Component of the 'Pradhan Mantri Krishi  Sinchayee  Yojana  (PMKSY)'  and  under  Compensatory    Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA).

## ANNEXURE-I

## ANNEXURE REFFERED TO IN REPLY OF PART (A) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 710 DUE FOR 14.12.2018 REGARDING FOREST LAND ASKED BY SHRI RAJESHBHAI CHUDASAMA AND SHRI S.P. MUDDAHANUME GOWDA.

## (AREA IN SQUARE KM)

| State                | Geographic Area   | Total Forest cover as per ISFR-2017   | Total Tree cover as per ISFR-2017   | Total Forest and Tree cover as per ISFR -2017   |
|----------------------|-------------------|---------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|
| Andhra Pradesh       | 162968            | 28,147                                | 3,753                               | 31,900                                          |
| Arunachal Pradesh    | 83743             | 66,964                                | 807                                 | 67,771                                          |
| Assam                | 78438             | 28,105                                | 1,496                               | 29,601                                          |
| Bihar                | 94163             | 7,299                                 | 2,263                               | 9,562                                           |
| Chhattisgarh         | 135192            | 55,547                                | 3,833                               | 59,380                                          |
| Delhi                | 1483              | 192.41                                | 113                                 | 305.41                                          |
| Goa                  | 3702              | 2,229                                 | 323                                 | 2,552                                           |
| Gujarat              | 196244            | 14,757                                | 8,024                               | 22,781                                          |
| Haryana              | 44212             | 1,588                                 | 1,415                               | 3,003                                           |
| Himachal Pradesh     | 55673             | 15,100                                | 822                                 | 15,922                                          |
| Jammu &Kashmir       | 222236            | 23,241                                | 7,815                               | 31,056                                          |
| Jharkhand            | 79716             | 23,553                                | 2,922                               | 26,475                                          |
| Karnataka            | 191791            | 37,550                                | 5,713                               | 43,263                                          |
| Kerala               | 38852             | 20,321                                | 2,959                               | 23,280                                          |
| Madhya Pradesh       | 308252            | 77,414                                | 8,073                               | 85,487                                          |
| Maharashtra          | 307713            | 50,682                                | 9,831                               | 60,513                                          |
| Manipur              | 22327             | 17,346                                | 220                                 | 17,566                                          |
| Meghalaya            | 22429             | 17,146                                | 657                                 | 17,803                                          |
| Mizoram              | 21081             | 18,186                                | 467                                 | 18,653                                          |
| Nagaland             | 16579             | 12,489                                | 379                                 | 12,868                                          |
| Odisha               | 155707            | 51,345                                | 3,993                               | 55,338                                          |
| Punjab               | 50362             | 1837                                  | 1,622                               | 3,459                                           |
| Rajasthan            | 342239            | 16,572                                | 8,266                               | 24,838                                          |
| Sikkim               | 7096              | 3,344                                 | 35                                  | 3,379                                           |
| Tamil Nadu           | 130060            | 26,281                                | 4,671                               | 30,952                                          |
| Telangana            | 112077            | 20,419                                | 2,669                               | 23,088                                          |
| Tripura              | 10486             | 7,726                                 | 215                                 | 7,941                                           |
| Uttar Pradesh        | 240928            | 14,679                                | 7,442                               | 22,121                                          |
| Uttarakhand          | 53483             | 24,295                                | 767                                 | 25,062                                          |
| West Bengal          | 88752             | 16,847                                | 2,136                               | 18,983                                          |
| A&N Islands          | 8249              | 6,742                                 | 35                                  | 6,777                                           |
| Chandigarh           | 114               | 21.56                                 | 10                                  | 31.56                                           |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli | 491               | 207                                   | 30                                  | 237                                             |
| Daman &Diu           | 111               | 20.49                                 | 10                                  | 30.49                                           |
| Lakshadweep          | 30                | 27.10                                 | 2                                   | 29.10                                           |
| Puducherry           | 490               | 53.67                                 | 27                                  | 84.67                                           |
| Grand Total          | 32,87,469         | 708273                                | 93,815                              | 802088                                          |

ANNEXURE-II

ANNEXURE  REFFERED  TO  IN  REPLY  OF  PART  (A)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 710 DUE FOR 14.12.2018 REGARDING FOREST LAND ASKED  BY  SHRI  RAJESHBHAI  CHUDASAMA  AND  SHRI  S.P.  MUDDAHANUME GOWDA.

(Forest area encroached in State/UTs as per report received from State/UTs)

| S. No.        | Name of States/UTs   | Area of Encroachment (in ha.)   | As on Date   |
|---------------|----------------------|---------------------------------|--------------|
| 1             | Andhra Pradesh       | 1690.72                         | 31.03.2016   |
| 2             | Bihar                | 132.21                          | 31.03.2015   |
| 3             | Chhattisgarh         | 19330.64                        | 31.01.2016   |
| 4             | Gujarat              | 34791.00                        | 19.03.2011   |
| 5             | Goa                  | Nil                             | 25.02.2013   |
| 6             | Haryana              | 520.00                          | 31.03.2016   |
| 7             | Himachal Pradesh     | 2339.02                         | 31.03.2016   |
| 8             | Jharkhand            | 26496.00                        | 07.08.2017   |
| 9             | Jammu &Kashmir       | 10279.28                        | 31.03.2017   |
| 10            | Karnataka            | 82734.81                        | 31.03.2017   |
| 11            | Kerala               | 7801.10                         | 31.03.2017   |
| 12            | Madhya Pradesh       | 534717.28                       | 31.03.2016   |
| 13            | Maharashtra          | 67012.56                        | 31.03.2016   |
| 14            | Odisha               | 78505.08                        | 22.07.2011   |
| 15            | Punjab               | 8175.31                         | 31.03.2017   |
| 16            | Rajasthan            | 10839.76                        | 31.03.2017   |
| 17            | Tamil Nadu           | 15041.57                        | 31.03.2017   |
| 18            | Telangana            | 3056.00                         | 31.03.2017   |
| 19            | Uttar Pradesh        | 23954.41                        | 31.03.2017   |
| 20            | Uttarakhand          | 9534.10                         | 13.12.2017   |
| 21            | West Bengal          | 10214.80                        | 31.03.2016   |
| 22            | Arunachal Pradesh    | 58636.13                        | 31.03.2016   |
| 23            | Assam                | 317215.39                       | 17.03.2015   |
| 24            | Manipur              | 6726.51                         | 31.03.2017   |
| 25            | Meghalaya            | 9378.00                         | 12.03.2011   |
| 26            | Mizoram              | 11408.16                        | 28.11.2017   |
| 27            | Nagaland             | 2479.96                         | 31.03.2017   |
| 28            | Sikkim               | 2817.21                         | 31.03.2016   |
| 29            | Tripura              | 6.77                            | 08.08.2014   |
| 30            | A &NIslands          | 4068.69                         | 31.03.2016   |
| 31            | Chandigarh           | 14.00                           | 03.08.2017   |
| 32            | D&NHaveli            | 614.40                          | 31.03.2013   |
| 33            | Daman &Diu           | 87.83                           | 28.09.2010   |
| 34            | Lakshadweep          | Nil                             | 28.08.2010   |
| 35            | Delhi                | 629.51                          | 11.04.2012   |
| 36 Puducherry |                      | Nil                             | 21.10.2010   |
| TOTAL         | TOTAL                | 1361248.21                      | 1361248.21   |