Lok Sabha Question No. 3236 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-12
Subject: Increase in Forest Cover
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Meenakashi Lekhi, Jayant Sinha

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  3236

TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.07.2019

## Increase in Forest Cover

## 3236.    SHRIMATI MEENAKASHI LEKHI: SHRI JAYANT SINHA:

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

- (a) whether forest cover in the country has increased during the last three years and the current year;
- (b) if so, the details thereof indicating the reasons where forest/green cover has increased;
- (c)  the  best  global  practices  that  are  currently  being  studied  by  the  Government  to  increase forest/green cover in the country and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the other steps being taken by the Government to increase forest cover in the country?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) & (b)  Yes, 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.  ISFR- 2017, the total forest and tree cover in the country is 8, 02, 088 square kilometer (forest cover 7,08,273 square kilometer, tree cover 93,815 square kilometer) which is 24.39% of the geographical area of the country.  There is an increase of 8,021 square kilometer (forest cover 6,778 square kilometer, tree cover 1,243  square  kilometer)  of  total  forest  and  tree  cover  compared  to  that  of  ISFR2015.  The State/UTs wise details of forest and tree cover along with percentage as per ISFR-2017 and ISFR-2015 are given in Annexure. The main reason for increase in forest cover can be attributed to plantation and conservation activities both within and outside the Recorded Forest areas.
- (c)                   As per Global Forest Resources Assessments (GFRA) published by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), India is placed as 10 th in the top ten countries in  terms  of  forest  area.  As  per  GFRA,  India  is  placed  at  8 th position  in  top  10 countries  reporting  greatest  annual  forest  area  gain.    Thus,  India  is  implementing best global practices to increase forest/green cover in the country.
- (d)                           To increase the forest/green coverin the country, afforestation programmes by  planting  trees  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 (CAF) and under concerned State/UTs schemes/plan.

***

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3236 due for answer on 28.06.2019 regarding 'Increase in Forest Cover'

## State/UTs wise details of Forest and Tree Cover as per ISFR 2017 and ISFR-2015

| Sl.No.   | Name of State /UT    | Geographical Area   | ISFR-2015 (update)   | ISFR-2015 (update)   | ISFR-2015 (update)          | ISFR-2015 (update)              | ISFR-2017    | ISFR-2017   | ISFR-2017                   | ISFR-2017                       |
|----------|----------------------|---------------------|----------------------|----------------------|-----------------------------|---------------------------------|--------------|-------------|-----------------------------|---------------------------------|
| Sl.No.   | Name of State /UT    | Geographical Area   | Forest Cover         | Tree Cover           | Total Forest and Tree Cover | Percentage of Geographical Area | Forest Cover | Tree Cover  | Total Forest and Tree Cover | Percentage of Geographical Area |
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh       | 162968              | 26006                | 3965                 | 29971                       | 18.39                           | 28147        | 3753        | 31900                       | 19.57                           |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh    | 83743               | 67154                | 761                  | 67915                       | 81.10                           | 66964        | 807         | 67771                       | 80.93                           |
| 3        | Assam                | 78438               | 27538                | 1613                 | 29151                       | 37.16                           | 28105        | 1496        | 29601                       | 37.74                           |
| 4        | Bihar                | 94163               | 7254                 | 2182                 | 9436                        | 10.02                           | 7299         | 2263        | 9562                        | 10.15                           |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh         | 135192              | 55559                | 3629                 | 59188                       | 43.78                           | 55547        | 3833        | 59380                       | 43.92                           |
| 6        | Delhi                | 1483                | 188.77               | 111                  | 299.77                      | 20.21                           | 192.41       | 113         | 305.41                      | 20.59                           |
| 7        | Goa                  | 3702                | 2210                 | 325                  | 2535                        | 68.48                           | 2229         | 323         | 2552                        | 68.94                           |
| 8        | Gujarat              | 196244              | 14710                | 7914                 | 22624                       | 11.53                           | 14757        | 8024        | 22781                       | 11.61                           |
| 9        | Haryana              | 44212               | 1580                 | 1355                 | 2935                        | 6.64                            | 1588         | 1415        | 3003                        | 6.79                            |
| 10       | Himachal Pradesh     | 55673               | 14707                | 757                  | 15464                       | 27.78                           | 15100        | 822         | 15922                       | 28.60                           |
| 11       | Jammu & Kashmir      | 222236              | 22988                | 8354                 | 31342                       | 14.10                           | 23241        | 7815        | 31056                       | 13.97                           |
| 12       | Jharkhand            | 79716               | 23524                | 2783                 | 26307                       | 33.00                           | 23553        | 2922        | 26475                       | 33.21                           |
| 13       | Karnataka            | 191791              | 36449                | 5552                 | 42001                       | 21.90                           | 37550        | 5713        | 43263                       | 22.56                           |
| 14       | Kerala               | 38852               | 19278                | 2951                 | 22229                       | 57.21                           | 20321        | 2959        | 23280                       | 59.92                           |
| 15       | Madhya Pradesh       | 308252              | 77426                | 7773                 | 85199                       | 27.64                           | 77414        | 8073        | 85487                       | 27.73                           |
| 16       | Maharashtra          | 307713              | 50699                | 9558                 | 60257                       | 19.58                           | 50682        | 9831        | 60513                       | 19.67                           |
| 17       | Manipur              | 22327               | 17083                | 243                  | 17326                       | 77.60                           | 17346        | 220         | 17566                       | 78.68                           |
| 18       | Meghalaya            | 22429               | 17262                | 710                  | 17972                       | 80.13                           | 17146        | 657         | 17803                       | 79.37                           |
| 19       | Mizoram              | 21081               | 18717                | 535                  | 19252                       | 91.32                           | 18186        | 467         | 18653                       | 88.48                           |
| 20       | Nagaland             | 16579               | 12939                | 381                  | 13320                       | 80.34                           | 12489        | 379         | 12868                       | 77.62                           |
| 21       | Odisha               | 155707              | 50460                | 3986                 | 54446                       | 34.97                           | 51345        | 3993        | 55338                       | 35.54                           |
| 22       | Punjab               | 50362               | 1771                 | 1544                 | 3315                        | 6.58                            | 1837         | 1622        | 3459                        | 6.87                            |
| 23       | Rajasthan            | 342239              | 16106                | 8269                 | 24375                       | 7.12                            | 16572        | 8266        | 24838                       | 7.26                            |
| 24       | Sikkim               | 7096                | 3353                 | 35                   | 3388                        | 47.75                           | 3344         | 35          | 3379                        | 47.62                           |
| 25       | Tamil Nadu           | 130060              | 26208                | 4505                 | 30713                       | 23.61                           | 26281        | 4671        | 30952                       | 23.80                           |
| 26       | Telangana            | 112077              | 19854                | 2549                 | 22403                       | 19.99                           | 20419        | 2669        | 23088                       | 20.60                           |
| 27       | Tripura              | 10486               | 7890                 | 233                  | 8123                        | 77.47                           | 7726         | 215         | 7941                        | 75.73                           |
| 28       | Uttar Pradesh        | 240928              | 14401                | 7044                 | 21445                       | 8.90                            | 14679        | 7442        | 22121                       | 9.18                            |
| 29       | Uttarakhand          | 53483               | 24272                | 752                  | 25024                       | 46.79                           | 24295        | 767         | 25062                       | 46.86                           |
| 30       | West Bengal          | 88752               | 16826                | 2088                 | 18914                       | 21.31                           | 16847        | 2136        | 18983                       | 21.39                           |
| 31       | A&N Islands          | 8249                | 6751                 | 37                   | 6788                        | 82.29                           | 6742         | 35          | 6777                        | 82.16                           |
| 32       | Chandigarh           | 114                 | 21.66                | 9                    | 30.66                       | 26.89                           | 21.56        | 10          | 31.56                       | 27.68                           |
| 33       | Dadra & Nagar Haveli | 491                 | 206                  | 28                   | 234                         | 47.66                           | 207          | 30          | 237                         | 48.27                           |
| 34       | Daman & Diu          | 111                 | 19.61                | 10                   | 29.61                       | 26.68                           | 20.49        | 10          | 30.49                       | 27.47                           |
| 35       | Lakshadweep          | 30                  | 27.06                | 4                    | 31.06                       | 103.53                          | 27.1         | 2           | 29.1                        | 97.00                           |
| 36       | Puducherry           | 490                 | 56.95                | 27                   | 83.95                       | 17.13                           | 53.67        | 27          | 80.67                       | 16.46                           |
|          | Total                | 3287469             | 701495               | 92572                | 794067                      | 24.15                           | 708273       | 93815       | 802088                      | 24.40                           |