Lok Sabha Question No. 71 (STARRED), answered on 2022-12-12
Subject: Increase in Forest Cover
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Umesh G. Jadhav, Shrikant Eknath Shinde

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO: 71*

TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.12.2022

## Increase in Forest Cover

## *71.   SHRI UNMESH BHAIYYASAHEB PATIL: DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE:

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

- (a) the details of forest cover in the country as on date, State-wise;
- (b) the details of increase in forest cover during the last three years, State-wise;
- (c) the  details  of  afforestation  programmes  being  run  by  the  Government  to  increase  the forest cover in the country; and
- (d) the details of funds  allocated,  released and  utilized during  2022-23  till date for afforestation, scheme-wise and State-wise?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI BHUPENDER YADAV)

- (a) to (d)  The statement is laid on the table of the House.

***

## Statement refer to in reply to part (a) to (d) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 71 due for reply on 12.12.2022 regarding 'Increase in Forest Cover' by Shri Unmesh Bhaiyyasaheb Patil and Dr. Shrikant Eknath Shinde:

(a) & (b) 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). The forest cover assessment is a wall-towall mapping exercise based on remote sensing supported by intensive ground verification and field data from National Forest Inventory. As per latest ISFR 2021, the total forest cover of the country is 7,13,789 square kilometre which is 21.71% of the geographical area of the country. The current assessment shows that the total forest cover of the country has increased by 1540 square kilometre, tree cover has increased by 721 square kilometre and total forest and tree cover has increased by 2261 square kilometre at the national level as compared to the previous assessment i.e. ISFR 2019.The details of State and Union Territory wise forest cover are given at Annexure I .  The details of increase in forest cover during the last three years are given at Annexure II.

(c) & (d) To increase the forest cover in the country, afforestation programmes are taken up under various Centrally Sponsored Schemes of the Ministry such as National Mission for a Green  India  (GIM).  GIM  is  one  of  the  eight  Missions  outlined  under  the  National  Action Plan on Climate Change. It aims at protecting, restoring and enhancing India's forest cover and responding to Climate Change by undertaking plantation activities in the forest and nonforest  areas.  GIM  activities  were  started  in  the  FY  2015-16.  So,  far  a  sum  of  Rs.  681.92 Crores have been released to fifteen States and one union territory for creation of plantation over  an  area  of  128383  hectares.  The  State-wise  detail  of  funds  released  during  the  year 2022-23 till date under GIM are given at Annexure III .

The  Ministry  is  implementing  Nagar  Van  Yojana  (NVY)  since  the  year  2020  which envisages developing 400 Nagar Vans and 200 Nagar Vatika in the country during the period of 2020-21 to 2024-25 with an objective to significantly enhance the tree outside forests and green cover, enhancement of biodiversity and ecological benefits to the urban and peri-urban areas apart from improving quality of life of city dwellers with the funds under the National Fund  of  the  Compensatory  Afforestation  Fund  Management  and  Planning  Authority (CAMPA).The Ministry has approved 270 projects under Nagar Van Yojana with the total cost of Rs.238.64 Crore till date, which includes an amount of Rs. 57.14 Crore for creation of 97 Nagar Van/Vatika during 2022-23. The State wise-details of fund released under Nagar Van Yojana are enclosed at Annexure-IV

Afforestation activities are also taken up under various programmes/funding sources such as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, 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.  In  addition,  plantations  are  also  done  by  various departments, Non-Government Organizations, Civil Society, Corporate bodies etc.

The  multi  departmental  efforts  have  yielded  good  results  in  conserving  environment  by addressing the problem of deforestation, besides keeping the pace of development, which is evident from the fact that the forest cover has stabilized and has been constantly increasing over the years. As per the latest ISFR 2021, the total forest cover of the country has increased by 12,294 square kilometres in the last seven years (ISFR 2015 to ISFR 2021).

*********

## Annexure-I Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of the Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 71 due for

## answer on 12.12.2022 regarding 'Increase in Forest Cover'

## State and Union Territory wise details of forest cover as per ISFR 2021

(Area in square Kilometre)

| S. No.   | State/UT                           | Geo- graphical Area (GA)   | Total Forest Cover   |   Percentage of Geographical area |
|----------|------------------------------------|----------------------------|----------------------|-----------------------------------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh                     | 1,62,968                   | 29,784               |                             18.28 |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh                  | 83,743                     | 66,431               |                             79.33 |
| 3        | Assam                              | 78,438                     | 28,312               |                             36.09 |
| 4        | Bihar                              | 94,163                     | 7,381                |                              7.84 |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh                       | 1,35,192                   | 55,717               |                             41.21 |
| 6        | Delhi                              | 1,483                      | 195.00               |                             13.15 |
| 7        | Goa                                | 3,702                      | 2,244                |                             60.62 |
| 8        | Gujarat                            | 1,96,244                   | 14,926               |                              7.61 |
| 9        | Haryana                            | 44,212                     | 1,603                |                              3.63 |
| 10       | Himachal Pradesh                   | 55,673                     | 15,443               |                             27.73 |
| 11       | Jharkhand                          | 79,716                     | 23,721               |                             29.76 |
| 12       | Karnataka                          | 1,91,791                   | 38,730               |                             20.19 |
| 13       | Kerala                             | 38,852                     | 21,253               |                             54.7  |
| 14       | Madhya Pradesh                     | 3,08,252                   | 77,493               |                             25.14 |
| 15       | Maharashtra                        | 3,07,713                   | 50,798               |                             16.51 |
| 16       | Manipur                            | 22,327                     | 16,598               |                             74.34 |
| 17       | Meghalaya                          | 22,429                     | 17,046               |                             76    |
| 18       | Mizoram                            | 21,081                     | 17,820               |                             84.53 |
| 19       | Nagaland                           | 16,579                     | 12,251               |                             73.9  |
| 20       | Odisha                             | 1,55,707                   | 52,156               |                             33.5  |
| 21       | Punjab                             | 50,362                     | 1,847                |                              3.67 |
| 22       | Rajasthan                          | 3,42,239                   | 16,655               |                              4.87 |
| 23       | Sikkim                             | 7,096                      | 3,341                |                             47.08 |
| 24       | Tamil Nadu                         | 1,30,060                   | 26,419               |                             20.31 |
| 25       | Telangana                          | 1,12,077                   | 21,214               |                             18.93 |
| 26       | Tripura                            | 10,486                     | 7,722                |                             73.64 |
| 27       | Uttar Pradesh                      | 2,40,928                   | 14,818               |                              6.15 |
| 28       | Uttarakhand                        | 53,483                     | 24,305               |                             45.44 |
| 29       | West Bengal                        | 88,752                     | 16,832               |                             18.96 |
| 30       | A &NIslands                        | 8,249                      | 6,744                |                             81.75 |
| 31       | Chandigarh                         | 114                        | 22.88                |                             20.07 |
| 32       | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu | 602                        | 227.75               |                             37.83 |
| 33       | Jammu &Kashmir                     | 54,624                     | 21,387               |                             39.15 |
| 34       | Ladakh                             | 1,68,055                   | 2,272                |                              1.35 |
| 35       | Lakshadweep                        | 30                         | 27.10                |                             90.33 |
| 36       | Puducherry                         | 490                        | 53.30                |                             10.88 |
| Total    | Total                              | 32,87,469                  | 7,13,789             |                             21.71 |

## Annexure-II

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (b) of the Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 71 due for answer on 12.12.2022 regarding 'Increase in Forest Cover'

## States/UTs details of increase in Forest Cover between ISFR 2019 and ISFR 2021

## (Area in square kilometre)

ISFR 2019

| S. No.   | States/UTs            | Geographical area   | ISFR     | ISFR     | Increase in Forest Cover between ISFR 2021 & ISFR 2019 (b-a)   |
|----------|-----------------------|---------------------|----------|----------|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| S. No.   | States/UTs            | Geographical area   | 2019 (a) | 2021 (b) | Increase in Forest Cover between ISFR 2021 & ISFR 2019 (b-a)   |
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh        | 1,62,968            | 29,137   | 29,784   | 647                                                            |
| 2        | Telangana             | 1,12,077            | 20,582   | 21,214   | 632                                                            |
| 3        | Odisha                | 1,55,707            | 51,619   | 52,156   | 537                                                            |
| 4        | Karnataka             | 1,91,791            | 38,575   | 38,730   | 155                                                            |
| 5        | Jharkhand             | 79,716              | 23,611   | 23,721   | 110                                                            |
| 6        | Kerala                | 38,852              | 21,144   | 21,253   | 109                                                            |
| 7        | Chhattisgarh          | 1,35,192            | 55,611   | 55,717   | 106                                                            |
| 8        | Bihar                 | 94,163              | 7,306    | 7,381    | 75                                                             |
| 9        | Gujarat               | 1,96,244            | 14,857   | 14,926   | 69                                                             |
| 10       | Tamil Nadu            | 1,30,060            | 26,364   | 26,419   | 55                                                             |
| 11       | Rajasthan             | 3,42,239            | 16,630   | 16,655   | 25                                                             |
| 12       | Jammu &Kashmir*       |                     | 21,358   | 21,387   | 29                                                             |
| 13       | Ladakh                | 2,22,236            | 2,254    | 2,272    | 18                                                             |
| 14       | Maharashtra           | 3,07,713            | 50,778   | 50,798   | 20                                                             |
| 15       | Uttar Pradesh         | 2,40,928            | 14,806   | 14,818   | 12                                                             |
| 16       | Madhya Pradesh        | 3,08,252            | 77,482   | 77,493   | 11                                                             |
| 17       | Himachal Pradesh      | 55,673              | 15,434   | 15,443   | 9                                                              |
| 18       | Goa                   | 3,702               | 2,237    | 2,244    | 7                                                              |
| 19       | Uttarakhand           | 53,483              | 24,303   | 24,305   | 2                                                              |
| 20       | Haryana               | 44,212              | 1,602    | 1,603    | 1                                                              |
| 21       | A&N Islands           | 8,249               | 6,743    | 6,744    | 1                                                              |
| 22       | Puducherry            | 490                 | 52.41    | 53.3     | 0.89                                                           |
| 23       | Chandigarh            | 114                 | 22.03    | 22.88    | 0.85                                                           |
| 24       | Dadra &Nagar Haveli # | 491                 | 207.16   | 227.75   |                                                                |
| 25       | Daman &Diu #          | 111                 | 20.49    |          | 0.10                                                           |
| 26       | Lakshadweep           | 30                  | 27.1     | 27.1     | 0                                                              |

Annexure-III Annexure referred to in reply to part (d) of the Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 71 due for answer on 12.12.2022 regarding 'Increase in Forest Cover' Details of funds released and utilized during 2022-23 under the scheme National Mission for a Green India

| Sl. No.   | State          |   Funds Released (Rupees in Crore) | Funds utilized   |
|-----------|----------------|------------------------------------|------------------|
| 1.        | Madhya Pradesh |                            17.93   | NIL              |
| 2.        | Manipur        |                             5.45   | NIL              |
| 3.        | Mizoram        |                            36.27   | NIL              |
| 4.        | Punjab         |                             2.7393 | NIL              |
| 5.        | Sikkim         |                             6.57   | NIL              |
| 6.        | West Bengal    |                             0.76   | NIL              |
|           | Total          |                            69.72   | NIL              |

## Annexure-IV

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (d) of the Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 71 due for answer on 12.12.2022 regarding 'Increase in Forest Cover'

State wise fund release under Nagar Van Yojana for the year 2022-23 )

(Rupees in Lakhs)

| S. No.   | State             |   Number of Proposals |   Total Cost |   First Installment |
|----------|-------------------|-----------------------|--------------|---------------------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh    |                     3 |       512.3  |             358.61  |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh |                     1 |        80    |              56     |
| 3        | Bihar             |                     4 |       196.6  |             137.62  |
| 4        | Himachal Pradesh  |                     4 |       456.28 |             319.396 |
| 5        | Jammu &Kashmir    |                     2 |       160    |             112     |
| 6        | Jharkhand         |                     2 |       221.61 |             155.127 |
| 7        | Madhya Pradesh    |                    16 |      1678.72 |            1175.1   |
| 8        | Maharashtra       |                     3 |       276.95 |             193.865 |
| 9        | Meghalaya         |                     1 |       200    |             140     |
| 10       | Rajasthan         |                     1 |       200    |             140     |
| 11       | Sikkim            |                     1 |       140    |              98     |
| 12       | Tamil Nadu        |                     5 |       900    |             630     |
| 13       | Telangana         |                    47 |       436.6  |             305.62  |
| 14       | Uttar Pradesh     |                     1 |         8    |               5.6   |
| 15       | Uttarakhand       |                     2 |       123.88 |              86.716 |
| 16       | West Bengal       |                     3 |       104    |              72.8   |
| 17       | Chandigarh        |                     1 |        19.16 |              13.412 |
| Total    | Total             |                    97 |      5714.1  |            3999.87  |