Lok Sabha Question No. 5620 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-26
Subject: Cutting of Trees due to Development Works
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Ravi Kishan Shukla, Rajiv Pratap Rudy

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  5620

TO BE ANSWERED ON 26.07.2019

## Cutting of Trees due to Development Works

## 5620.    SHRI RAVI KISHAN:

## SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY:

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

- (a)  the  total  area vis-a-vis total  geographical  area  under  Tree  cover/Forest  cover  in    the country, State/UT-wise;
- (b) whether the Government has any data/estimates regarding the number of trees cut due to development works, construction, forest-fire and other reasons in the last five years and if so, the details thereof;
- (c)  the measures taken by the Government to plant more trees in the country along with the number of trees planted in the last four years, State/ UT-wise; and
- (d)  whether  the  Government  has  made  separate  budgetary  provisions  for  tree  plantation  to increase forest cover in the country, if so, the details thereof, State/ UT-wise?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) Forest  Survey  of  India,  Dehradun,  an  organization  under  the  Ministry  carries  out assessment  of  forest  cover  of  the  country  biennially  and  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  kilometre  (forest  cover 7,08,273 square kilometre, tree cover 93,815 square kilometre) which is 24.39% of the geographical area of the country.  There is an increase of 8,021 square kilometre (forest cover 6,778 square kilometre, tree cover 1,243 square kilometre) of total forest and tree cover compared to that of ISFR-2015.  The State/UTs wise details of forest and tree cover as per ISFR-2017 are given in Annexure I.
- (b) Trees are felled for various development purposes with the permission of competent authorities in accordance with the procedure laid down in various Acts. The details of permission of tree felling granted by the Ministry under Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 from 2014-15 to 2018-19 is given in Annexure-II. However, Ministry does not maintain data regarding the cutting of trees due to forest fire.

(c ) & (d)      To  increase  forest  cover  of  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 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, CAF and under concerned State/UT schemes/plans.

A  sum  of  Rs.237.07  crore  has  so  far  been  released  to  twelve  states  under  GIM  for undertaking  afforestation  activities  over  an  area  of  87113.86  hectare  and  providing alternative  energy  devices  to  56,319  households.  Under  NAP,  an  amount  of  Rs.328.90 Crore has been released to the States to treat new area of 94828 hectares during the last four years (215-16 to 2018-19). Details of fund released by the Ministry under NAP and GIM  during  the  last  four  years  to  States/UT  are  given  in  AnnexureIII and IV respectively.

Whenever forest land is diverted for non-forestry purpose, Compensatory Afforestation over an equal non-forest land or double the degraded forest land is carried out from the funds deposited in Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF). The details of fund released to the various States/UTs since 2014-15 is given in Annexure-V.

**********

## Annexure I

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 5620 due for answer on 26.07.2019 regarding 'Cutting of Trees due to Development Works'.

State/UTs wise details of Forest and Tree Cover as per ISFR 2017

(Area in square kilometre)

| State             |   Geographical 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 | 21.56          |           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 |

* Includes Jammu & Kashmir area outside LoC that is under illegal occupation of Pakistan and China.

## Annexure II

Annexure referred to in reply to part (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 5620 due for answer on 26.07.2019 regarding 'Cutting of Trees due to Development Works'. Permission of tree felling (nos.) against the proposals received under Forest Conservation

## Act.

| Year        |   Permission of tree felling |
|-------------|------------------------------|
| 2014-15     |                      2334319 |
| 2015-16     |                      1696917 |
| 2016-17     |                      1701416 |
| 2017-18     |                      2552164 |
| 2018-19     |                      2691028 |
| Grand Total |                     10975844 |

## Annexure III

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (d) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 5620 due for answer on 26.07.2019 regarding 'Cutting of Trees due to Development Works'.

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

| S. No.   | State                | FY 2015-16   | FY 2016-17   | FY 2017-18   | (Rs. in Crore) FY 2018-19   |
|----------|----------------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|-----------------------------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh       | 0.87         | 1.33         | 3.36         | 6.38                        |
| 2        | Bihar                | 5.01         | 2.18         | 4.23         | 0.00                        |
| 3        | Chhattisgarh         | 10.20        | 4.92         | 10.86        | 7.82                        |
| 4        | Goa                  | 0.00         | 0.00         | 0.00         | 0.00                        |
| 5        | Gujarat              | 8.54         | 4.36         | 0.00         | 0.00                        |
| 6        | Haryana              | 0.72         | 3.50         | 2.71         | 0.00                        |
| 7        | Himachal Pradesh     | 0.00         |              | 1.72         | 2.92                        |
| 8        | Jammu &Kashmir       | 0.00         |              | 7.20         | 0.00                        |
| 9        | Jharkhand            | 0.00         |              | 0.00         | 0.00                        |
| 10       | Karnataka            | 1.05         | 7.33         | 3.24         | 10.99                       |
| 11       | Kerala               | 1.02         |              | 0.00         | 0.00                        |
| 12       | Madhya Pradesh       | 9.45         | 4.00         | 8.74         | 7.78                        |
| 13       | Maharashtra          | 14.90        | 4.76         | 6.73         | 15.33                       |
| 14       | Orissa               | 9.49         | 4.62         | 3.49         | 11.36                       |
| 15       | Punjab               | 0.00         |              | 0.00         | 0.00                        |
| 16       | Rajasthan            | 0.75         |              | 1.40         | 1.95                        |
| 17       | Tamil Nadu           | 1.42         | 1.56         | 0.00         | 2.07                        |
| 18       | Telangana            | 0.00         |              | 0.00         | 0.00                        |
| 19       | Uttar Pradesh        | 2.68         | 2.55         | 0.67         | 0.32                        |
| 20       | Uttarakhand          | 3.05         |              | 3.36         | 2.58                        |
| 21       | West Bengal          | 0.00         |              | 0.00         | 0.00                        |
|          | Total (Other States) | 69.16        | 41.10        | 57.71        | 69.50                       |
|          | North Eastern states |              |              |              |                             |
| 22       | Arunachal Pradesh    | 0.00         | 0.00         | 0.86         |                             |
| 23       | Assam                | 2.56         | 0.00         | 0.00         | 0.58                        |
| 24       | Manipur              | 3.67         | 1.21         | 3.19         | 4.38                        |
| 25       | Meghalaya            | 1.35         | 0.00         | 1.65         | 0.74                        |
| 26       | Mizoram              | 10.17        | 6.74         | 5.80         | 7.79                        |
| 27       | Nagaland             | 0.00         | 5.21         | 5.85         | 6.41                        |
| 28       | Sikkim               | 1.52         | 5.09         | 0.00         | 5.98                        |
| 29       | Tripura              | 5.73         | 0.00         | 4.94         |                             |
|          | Total (NE States)    | 25.00        | 18.25        | 22.29        | 25.88                       |
|          | G. Total             | 94.16        | 59.35        | 80.00        | 95.38                       |

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (d) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 5620 due for answer on 26.07.2019 regarding 'Cutting of Trees due to Development Works'.

## State-wise details of funds released under Green India Mission.

(Rs. in Crore)

| Sl. No.   | States         | FY 2015-16   | FY 2016-17   | FY2017-18   | FY 2018-19   |
|-----------|----------------|--------------|--------------|-------------|--------------|
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh | -            | 1.06         | 0.446       | 2.6662       |
| 2         | Chhattisgarh   | 23.39        | 20.23        | 10.953      | 5.3607       |
| 3         | Karnataka      | 1.05         | 0.87         | 0.857       | 1.62339      |
| 4         | Kerala*        | 9.15         | -            | -           | -            |
| 5         | Manipur        | 8.35         | 7.82         | 6.416       | 4.88812      |
| 6         | Mizoram        | -            | 9.88         | 20.00       | 22.364       |
| 7         | Odisha         | 1.83         | 1.39         | 1.406       | 4.74334      |
| 8         | Punjab*        | 6.11.        | -            | 6.217       | -            |
| 9         | Uttarakhand**  | 20.21        | -            | -           | -            |
| 10        | Sikkim         | -            | -            | -           | 3.3236       |
| 11        | Maharashtra    | -            | -            | -           | 10.30188     |
| 12        | Madhya Pradesh | -            | -            | -           | 24.15919     |
|           | Total          | 70.09        | 41.25        | 46.295      | 79.4304      |

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) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 5620 due for answer on 26.07.2019 regarding 'Cutting of Trees due to Development Works'.

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

| State/UT                  | FY 15-16       | FY 16-17       | FY-17-18          | FY-18-19          | FY-19-20          |
|---------------------------|----------------|----------------|-------------------|-------------------|-------------------|
| State/UT                  | Release (Rs.)  | Release (Rs.)  | Release (Rs.)     | Release (Rs.)     | Release (Rs.)     |
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 10,000,000     | Nil            | 1,33,00,000.00    | 1,56,00,000.00    | Nil               |
| Andhra Pradesh            | 850,000,000    | 890,000,000    | 97,00,00,000.00   | 1,04,47,00,000.00 | Nil               |
| Arunachal Pradesh         | 620,000,000    | 1,500,000,000  |                   | 3,54,15,00,000.00 | Nil               |
| Assam                     |                | 300,000,000    | 70,00,00,000.00   | 45,84,00,000.00   | Nil               |
| Bihar                     | 341,400,000    | 330,000,000    | 30,31,00,000.00   | 46,61,90,000.00   | Nil               |
| Chandigarh                | 21,179,000     | 10,000,000     | 1,13,00,000.00    | 1,27,00,000.00    | Nil               |
| Chhattisgarh              | 2,390,000,000  | 2,800,000,000  | Nil               | Nil               | Nil               |
| Dadar Nagar Haveli        | Nil            | Nil            | Nil               | Nil               | Nil               |
| Daman &Diu                | Nil            | Nil            | Nil               | Nil               | Nil               |
| Delhi                     | 39,100,000     | 40,000,000     | Nil               | Nil               | Nil               |
| Goa                       |                |                | Nil               | Nil               | Nil               |
| Gujarat                   | 330,000,000    | 990,000,000    | 27,00,00,000.00   | 2,12,6600,000.00  | Nil               |
| Haryana                   | 640,000,000    | 180,000,000    | 80,00,00,000.00   | 1,44,20,00,000.00 | Nil               |
| Himachal Pradesh          | 854,700,000    | 1,506,200,000  | 1,20,00,00,000.00 | 1,32,52,00,000.00 | Nil               |
| Jammu Kashmir             | 310,000,000    | 1,020,000,000  | 69,00,00,000.00   | Nil               | 1,01,77,00,000.00 |
| Jharkhand                 | 1,410,000,000  | 1,490,000,000  | 2,34,00,00,000.00 | 2,86,25,00,000.00 | Nil               |
| Karnataka                 | 600,000,000    | 851,200,000    | 86,00,00,000.00   | 1,01,40,00,000.00 | Nil               |
| Kerala                    | Nil            | Nil            | 8,00,00,000.00    | 14,61,00,000.00   | Nil               |
| Lakshadweep               | Nil            | Nil            | Nil               | Nil               | Nil               |
| Madhya Pradesh            | 2,130,000,000  | 1,400,000,000  | 2,00,00,00,000.00 | 2,68,76,00,000.00 | Nil               |
| Maharashtra               | 1,550,000,000  | 2,050,000,000  | 1,99,00,00,000.00 | 2,25,00,00,000.00 | Nil               |
| Manipur                   | 250,000,000    | 150,000,000    | 29,50,00,000.00   | 24,85,00,000.00   | Nil               |
| Meghalaya                 | 165,600,000    |                | 7,00,00,000.00    | Nil               | Nil               |
| Mizoram                   | 100,000,000    | 77,300,000     | 6,85,00,000.00    | 8,30,00,000.00    | Nil               |
| Nagaland                  | Nil            | Nil            | Nil               | Nil               | Nil               |
| Orissa                    | 3,220,000,000  | 4,260,000,000  | 5,09,00,00,000.00 | 5,54,00,00,000.00 | Nil               |
| Pudducherry               | Nil            | Nil            | Nil               | Nil               | Nil               |
| Punjab                    | 490,000,000    | 660,000,000    | 64,00,00,000.00   | 79,20,00,000.00   | Nil               |
| Rajasthan                 | 480,000,000    | 1,480,600,000  | 1,79,00,00,000.00 | 1,82,03,00,000.00 | Nil               |
| Sikkim                    | 110,000,000    | 90,000,000     | Nil               | Nil               | Nil               |
| Tamil Nadu                | 35,200,000     | 90,000,000     | 12,68,00,000.00   | 7,00,00,000.00    | Nil               |
| Telangana                 | 760,000,000    | 1,170,000,000  | 1,27,00,00,000.00 | 2,37,38,00,000.00 | Nil               |
| Tripura                   | 110,000,000    | 120,000,000    | 7,10,00,000       | 16,70,00,000.00   | Nil               |
| Uttar Pradesh             | 1,770,000,000  | 970,000,000    | 1,44,00,00,000.00 | 1,50,60,00,000.00 | Nil               |
| Uttrakhand                | 1,640,000,000  | 1,707,100,000  | 96,00,00,000.00   | 3,03,00,00,000.00 | Nil               |
| West Bengal               | Nil            | 210,000,000    | Nil               | 21,22,00,000.00   | Nil               |
| Total                     | 21,227,179,000 | 26,342,400,000 | 24,049,000,000.00 | 35,235,890,000.00 | 1,017,700,000.00  |