Lok Sabha Question No. 3254 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-03-13
Subject: Increase in Forest Cover
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Dushyant Singh, Anubhav Mohanty, Jayant Sinha

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO:  3254

TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.03.2020

## Increase in Forest Cover

## 3254.    SHRI DUSHYANT SINGH: SHRI ANUBHAV MOHANTY: SHRI JAYANT SINHA:

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

- (a) whether it is a fact that the forest cover is consistently increasing yet the percentage increase as per India State for Forest Report (ISFR) 2017-19 has only been 0.17 per cent, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government proposes to protect dense forests by strict compliance to rules and regulations, if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government plans to achieve the rate and quantity of expansion of forest cover by 33 per cent of the geographical area;
- (d) if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) whether the Government is likely to conduct comprehensive survey every five years to keep a check on quality of forest cover, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## 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  and  tree  cover  of  the  country  biennially  and  the  findings  are published in India State of Forest Report (ISFR). The total forest and tree cover of the country, as per the ISFR 2019 is 8,07,276 km 2 which is 24.56% of the total geographical area of the country. The current assessment shows an increase of 3,976 km 2 (0.56%) of forest cover, 1212 km 2 (1.29%) of tree cover and  5,188 km 2 (0.65%) of forest and tree cover put together, at the national level as compared to previous assessment of 2017.
- (b) Protection of forests including dense forests from various threats, including encroachment,  is  primarily  the  responsibility  of  the  respective  State  or  UT  who  take action as per the existing Acts/Rules. State/UT Forest Departments also issue directions

to field officers/staff for regular patrolling and take action against encroachers of forest land and remove encroachments, if any, as per extant law.

Government of India issues advisories to the States and UTs to remove encroachment on forest land. Funds are provided to States and UTs for forest protection measures such as survey  and  demarcation  of  forest  boundaries,  fixing  of  boundary  pillars  etc  under  the Compensatory  Afforestation  Fund  Act,  2016  and  Compensatory  Afforestation  Fund Rules, 2018, funds.

(c)& (d)      As per the National Forest Policy 1988, the national goal should be to have a minimum of one- third of the total land area of the country under forest or tree cover. In the hill and in mountainous  regions,  the  aim  should  be  to  maintain  two-third  of  the  area  under  such cover  in  order  to  prevent  erosion  and  land  degradation  and  to  ensure  the  stability  of fragile eco-system. To  increase  the  forest  and  tree  cover  further  in  the  country,  Ministry  has  been  taking several initiatives.  These include  Centrally  Sponsored  Schemes  such  as  National Afforestation  Programme,  National  Mission  for  a  Green  India  and  Development  of Wildlife Habitats. Compensatory Afforestation Fund Rules, 2018 also contain provisions for  taking  up  assisted natural regeneration,  artificial  regeneration  and  silvicultural operations in forests which contribute to increase in forest cover. Afforestation and tree planting  activities,  including  in  non-forest  areas,  are  also  taken  up  under  various programmes/funding  sources  such  as  Mahatma  Gandhi  National  Rural  Employment Guarantee Scheme, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana and under the schemes/plans of States and UTs.

- (e)    FSI,  Dehradun  carries  out  a  comprehensive  remote  sensing  based  assessment  of  the country's forest cover every two years wherein the forest cover is classified in various density classes, namely Very Dense Forest, Moderately Dense Forest and Open Forest. The  assessment  is  validated  by  intensive  ground  truthing.  FSI  also  conducts  National Forest  Inventory  involving  survey  and  enumeration  on  a large  number  of  sample  plots distributed  throughout  the  country.  The  findings  of  these  activities,  along  with  several other  studies,  are  published  in  the  India  State  of  Forest  Report  which  is  published biennially. So far, FSI has published 16 such reports.

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