Lok Sabha Question No. 761 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-02-07
Subject: National Afforestation Programme
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Sisir Kumar Adhikari

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTIO N NO. 761

TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.02.2022

## National Afforestation Programme

## 761. SHRI SISIR KUMAR ADHIKARI:

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

- (a) the year-wise details of budgetary allocations and expenditure on National Afforestation Programme to improve the forest cover from 2014-15 to 2021-22;
- (b) whether the National Afforestation Programme has improved the forest cover in India and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (c) the steps being taken by the Government to achieve the targeted objectives of National Afforestation Programme?

## ANSWER

MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

- (a) The year-wise details of budgetary allocations and expenditure of National Afforestation Programme, from 2014-15 to 2021-22, are  as under:

(Amount in Rupees in crore)

| Year             |   2014- 2015 |   2015- 2016 |   2016- 2017 |   2017- 2018 | 2018- 2019   | 2019- 2020   | 2020- 2021   | 2021- 2022**   |
|------------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|----------------|
| Budget Allocated |       243.78 |       100    |        60    |           80 | 176.94 *     | 193.63 *     | 160.00 *     | 220.00 *       |
| Expenditu re     |       243.78 |        94.16 |        59.35 |           80 | 176.73 *     | 193.63 *     | 158.04 *     | 200.13 *       |

(b)&(c) National  Afforestation  Programme(NAP)  has  been  the  flagship  afforestation  scheme  of the  Ministry,  implemented  since  year  2000  on  pan  India  basis,  for  afforestation  in identified  degraded  forest  areas  with  people's  participation  and  decentralised  forest governance. National Mission for a Green India (GIM)aims at protecting, restoring and enhancing  India's  forest  cover  through  plantation  activities  in  forest  and  non-forest areasand  the  activities  were  started  in  2015-16.NAP  and  GIM,  along  with  other afforestation  schemes,  have  been  contributing  in  restoration  of degraded  forest  areas  in the  country.  This  has  helped  in  stabilization  and  increase  in  the  extent  of  forest  cover, which is evident from the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) published by Forest Survey of India (FSI). The latest India State of Forest Report (ISFR 2021) revealed that the total forest and tree cover of the country is 8,09,537 square kilometres (which is 24.62 percent of  the  geographical  area  of  the  country)  compared  to  7,94,245  sq  km  (24.16  percent) in ISFR  2015.   There  is  an  increase  of  15,292  sq  km  of  forest  and  tree  cover  of  the country  from  ISFR,20115  to  ISFR2021.  The  ISFRs  also  pointed  out  that  the  positive change could be attributed to conservation measures or management interventions such as afforestation  activities,  participation  of  local  people  for  better  protection  in  plantation areas  as  well  as  in  traditional  forest  areas,  expansion  of  trees  outside  forests,  tree plantation drives etc.

In  order  to  achieve  the  targeted  objectives  of  National  Afforestation  Proggramme,the Ministry has merged NAP into Green India Mission (GIM) so that the overall greening efforts are augmented. The budget allocation for the merged scheme has increased from Rs. 160 crore in the year 2020-21 to Rs. 220 crore during the year 2021-22.

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