Lok Sabha Question No. 75 (STARRED), answered on 2021-07-23
Subject: Forest Cover
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Uttam Kumar Nalamada Reddy

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

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO.  75* TO BE ANSWERED ON 23.07.2021

## Forest Cover

## *75.   SHRI UTTAM KUMAR REDDY NALAMADA:

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

- (a) the total area currently under forest cover in the country along with its percentage share out of the total geographical area;
- (b) the details of forest area that is covered by monoculture plantations and plantations with only five or less species;
- (c) the details of natural forest land diverted for industrial use during the last five  years along with the funds allocated to each State for the purpose of compensatory afforestation during the said period, State/UT-wise;
- (d) the  area  of  land  covered  under  afforestation  programmes  along  with  the  area  having  mono culture  plantations  and  plantations  with  five  or  less  species  during  the  last  five  years, State/UT-wise; and
- (e) the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to make compensatory afforestation plantations more bio-diverse?

## ANSWER

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

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

***

Statement refer to in reply to part (a) to (e) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 75 due for  reply  on  23.07.2021  regarding  Forest  Cover  by  Shri  Uttam  Kumar  Reddy Nalamada.

- (a) 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). As per ISFR 2019, the total forest and tree cover of the country is 8,07,276 square kilometers which is 24.56 % of the geographical area of the country.
- (b) The Ministry does not collect information on monoculture plantations or plantations with five or less species. The information regarding area covered under monoculture plantations and plantations with five or less species, as  per details provided by respective State/UT Forest Departments is given in Annexure-I .
- (c) During the last five years, a total of 275.12 hectare forest land has been diverted under the category of industry.   The State/UT wise funds disbursed by the Ad-hoc CAMPA during the year 2016-17 to 2019-20 is given in Annexure-II .

After  coming  into  force  of  the  Compensatory  Afforestation  Fund  (CAF)  Act,  2016  with effect from 30.09.2018, an accumulated amount of ₹ 48,477.77 crore has been disbursed by the  National  Authority  between  29.08.2019  to  31.01.2021  to  31  States/UTs  who  have established the State Compensatory Afforestation Fund (State Fund) under public accounts of such States and reconciled the amount head wise and component wise. The details are given in Annexure-III&  IV. The  above  includes  funds  for  the  purpose  of  Compensatory Afforestation also.

- (d) The area covered under various afforestation and tree planting programmes in the country, State/UT-wise, during last 5  years is given in Annexure-V .  The  Ministry  does  not  collect information  on  monoculture  plantations  and  plantations  having  five  or  less  species  on monthly/annual basis.
- (e) As  per  provisions  of  the  Forest  (Conservation)  Act,  1980,  Forest  Conservation  Rules  and Guidelines,  as  far  as  practicable,  a  mixture  of  local  indigenous  species  are  planted  and monoculture of the species is avoided.  The States are also taking plantation of local species in the areas identified for compensatory afforestation for ensuring the biodiversity in these areas.

*****

Annexure I Annexure referred to in reply to part (b) of the Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 75 due for

## answer on 23.07.2021 regarding 'Forest Cover'

|   Sl. No. | State/UT            | Area under Monoculture plantations and plantation with five or less species                                            |
|-----------|---------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|         1 | Andhra Pradesh      | 8543 hectare under monoculture plantation and 26196 hectare under mixed plantation consisting of five or less species. |
|         2 | Arunachal Pradesh   | 3158.1 hectare of bamboo and cane plantation.                                                                          |
|         3 | Assam               | 2417.22 hectare (250 hectare monoculture plantation and remaining 2167.22 hectare planted with two to five species).   |
|         4 | Bihar               | 179663.81 hectare plantation of five or less than five species of plants.                                              |
|         5 | Chhattisgarh        | Not received from the State                                                                                            |
|         6 | Delhi               | Nil                                                                                                                    |
|         7 | Goa                 | 11944.38 hectare                                                                                                       |
|         8 | Gujarat             | Nil                                                                                                                    |
|         9 | Haryana             | Not available in the State                                                                                             |
|        10 | Himachal Pradesh    | No such data exists for the State of Himachal Pradesh.                                                                 |
|        11 | Jammu &Kashmir      | A mix of local species is being planted in all afforestation works in the UT of J&K.                                   |
|        12 | Jharkhand           | Not received from the State                                                                                            |
|        13 | Karnataka           | 409232.04 hectare under monoculture plantation                                                                         |
|        14 | Kerala              | 143396.421 hectare under monoculture plantation and 13449.93 hectare under plantation with five or less species.       |
|        15 | Madhya Pradesh      | Not received from the State                                                                                            |
|        16 | Maharashtra         | 525.134 hectare monoculture plantation                                                                                 |
|        17 | Manipur             | No monoculture plantation has been taken up, 7081.94 hectare of mixed plantation was taken up during 2020-21.          |
|        18 | Meghalaya           | 17708.93 hectare monoculture planation and other plantation with five or less species.                                 |
|        19 | Mizoram             | Not received from the State.                                                                                           |
|        20 | Nagaland            | Not received from the State                                                                                            |
|        21 | Odisha              | No monoculture plantation has been undertaken.                                                                         |
|        22 | Punjab              | Not received from the State                                                                                            |
|        23 | Rajasthan           | Nil                                                                                                                    |
|        24 | Sikkim              | Not received from the State                                                                                            |
|        25 | Tamil Nadu          | Not received from the State                                                                                            |
|        26 | Telangana           | 203161 hectare of monoculture plantation                                                                               |
|        27 | Tripura             | No such data is maintained in the State.                                                                               |
|        28 | Uttar Pradesh       | Not received from the State                                                                                            |
|        29 | Uttarakhand         | 1816.93 hectare monoculture plantation                                                                                 |
|        30 | West Bengal         | Not received from the State                                                                                            |
|        31 | A &NIslands         | 14915.4 hectare (including 1593 hectare of Red Oil Palm and 565 .108 hectare of rubber plantation)                     |
|        32 | Chandigarh          | Not received from the State                                                                                            |
|        33 | Dadra &Nagar Haveli | Not received from the State                                                                                            |
|        34 | Daman &Diu          | Not received from the State                                                                                            |
|        35 | Lakshadweep         | Nil                                                                                                                    |
|        36 | Puducherry          | Not applicable as there is no recorded reserve forest area in the Puducherry.                                          |

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (c) of the Lok Sabha starred Question No. 75 due for answer on 23.07.2021 regarding 'Forest Cover'

| State/UT wise funds disbursed by Ad-hoc CAMPA (₹ in crore)   | State/UT wise funds disbursed by Ad-hoc CAMPA (₹ in crore)   | State/UT wise funds disbursed by Ad-hoc CAMPA (₹ in crore)   | State/UT wise funds disbursed by Ad-hoc CAMPA (₹ in crore)   | State/UT wise funds disbursed by Ad-hoc CAMPA (₹ in crore)   |
|--------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|
| Sl. No.                                                      | State/UT                                                     | 2016-17                                                      | 2017-18 2018-19                                              | 2019-20                                                      |
| 1.                                                           | Andaman &Nicobar Islands                                     | 0.00                                                         | 1.33 1.56                                                    |                                                              |
| 2.                                                           | Andhra Pradesh                                               | 89.00                                                        | 97.00 104.47                                                 |                                                              |
| 3.                                                           | Arunachal Pradesh                                            | 150.00                                                       | 0.00 354.15                                                  |                                                              |
| 4.                                                           | Assam                                                        | 30.00 70.00                                                  | 45.84                                                        |                                                              |
| 5.                                                           | Bihar                                                        | 33.00 30.31                                                  | 46.62                                                        |                                                              |
| 6.                                                           | Chandigarh                                                   | 1.00                                                         | 1.13 1.27                                                    |                                                              |
| 7.                                                           | Chhattisgarh                                                 | 280.00                                                       | 0.00 0.00                                                    |                                                              |
| 8.                                                           | Dadar &Nagar Haveli                                          | 0.00 0.00                                                    | 0.00                                                         |                                                              |
| 9.                                                           | Daman &Diu                                                   | 0.00 0.00                                                    | 0.00                                                         |                                                              |
| 10.                                                          | Delhi                                                        | 4.00                                                         | 0.00 0.00                                                    |                                                              |
| 11.                                                          | Goa                                                          | 0.00                                                         | 0.00 0.00                                                    |                                                              |
| 12.                                                          | Gujarat                                                      | 99.00                                                        | 27.00 212.66                                                 |                                                              |
| 13.                                                          | Haryana                                                      | 18.00                                                        | 80.00 144.20                                                 |                                                              |
| 14.                                                          | Himachal Pradesh                                             | 150.62                                                       | 120.00 132.52                                                |                                                              |
| 15.                                                          | Jammu &Kashmir                                               | 102.00                                                       | 69.00 0.00                                                   | 101.77                                                       |
| 16.                                                          | Jharkhand                                                    | 149.00                                                       | 234.00 286.25                                                |                                                              |
| 17.                                                          | Karnataka                                                    | 85.12                                                        | 86.00 101.40                                                 |                                                              |
| 18.                                                          | Kerala                                                       | 0.00 8.00                                                    | 14.61                                                        |                                                              |
| 19.                                                          | Lakshadweep                                                  | 0.00                                                         | 0.00 0.00                                                    |                                                              |
| 20.                                                          | Madhya Pradesh                                               | 140.00 200.00                                                | 268.76                                                       |                                                              |
| 21.                                                          | Maharashtra                                                  | 205.00                                                       | 199.00 225.00                                                |                                                              |
| 22.                                                          | Manipur                                                      | 15.00 29.50                                                  | 24.85                                                        |                                                              |
| 23.                                                          | Meghalaya                                                    | 0.00 7.00                                                    | 0.00                                                         |                                                              |
| 24.                                                          | Mizoram                                                      | 7.73                                                         | 6.85 8.30                                                    |                                                              |
| 25.                                                          | Nagaland                                                     | 0.00                                                         | 0.00 0.00                                                    |                                                              |
| 26.                                                          | Odisha                                                       | 426.00 509.00                                                | 554.00                                                       |                                                              |
| 27.                                                          | Puducherry                                                   | 0.00                                                         | 0.00 0.00                                                    |                                                              |
| 28.                                                          | Punjab                                                       | 66.00 64.00                                                  | 79.20                                                        |                                                              |
| 29.                                                          | Rajasthan                                                    | 148.06                                                       | 179.00 182.03                                                |                                                              |
| 30.                                                          | Sikkim                                                       | 9.00 0.00                                                    | 0.00                                                         |                                                              |
| 31.                                                          | Tamil Nadu                                                   | 9.00                                                         | 12.68 7.00                                                   |                                                              |
| 32.                                                          | Telangana                                                    | 117.00                                                       | 127.00 237.38                                                |                                                              |
| 33.                                                          | Tripura                                                      | 12.00                                                        | 7.10 16.70                                                   |                                                              |
| 34.                                                          | Uttar Pradesh                                                | 97.00                                                        | 144.00 150.60                                                |                                                              |
| 35.                                                          | Uttarakhand                                                  | 170.71                                                       | 96.00 303.00                                                 |                                                              |
| 36.                                                          | West Bengal                                                  | 21.00 0.00                                                   | 21.22                                                        |                                                              |
|                                                              | GRAND TOTAL                                                  | 2,634.24 2,404.90                                            | 3,523.58                                                     | 101.77                                                       |

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (c) of the Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 75  due for answer on 23.07.2021 regarding 'Forest Cover'

| State/UT wise funds disbursed by the National Authority (₹ in crore)   | State/UT wise funds disbursed by the National Authority (₹ in crore)   | State/UT wise funds disbursed by the National Authority (₹ in crore)   |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Sl. No.                                                                | Name State/UTs                                                         | Funds transferred between 29.08.2019 to 31.01.2021 (₹ in crore)        |
| 1                                                                      | Andaman &Nicobar                                                       | 16.41                                                                  |
| 2                                                                      | Andhra Pradesh                                                         | 1734.81                                                                |
| 3                                                                      | Arunachal Pradesh                                                      | 1588.72                                                                |
| 4                                                                      | Assam                                                                  | 560.81                                                                 |
| 5                                                                      | Bihar                                                                  | 522.95                                                                 |
| 6                                                                      | Chandigarh                                                             | 11.38                                                                  |
| 7                                                                      | Chhattisgarh                                                           | 5791.70                                                                |
| 8                                                                      | Goa                                                                    | 238.16                                                                 |
| 9                                                                      | Gujarat                                                                | 1484.60                                                                |
| 10                                                                     | Haryana                                                                | 1282.65                                                                |
| 11                                                                     | Himachal Pradesh                                                       | 1660.72                                                                |
| 12                                                                     | Jammu &Kashmir                                                         | 764.54                                                                 |
| 13                                                                     | Jharkhand                                                              | 4158.02                                                                |
| 14                                                                     | Karnataka                                                              | 1350.37                                                                |
| 15                                                                     | Kerala                                                                 | 81.59                                                                  |
| 16                                                                     | Ladakh                                                                 | 249.27                                                                 |
| 17                                                                     | Madhya Pradesh                                                         | 5196.69                                                                |
| 18                                                                     | Maharashtra                                                            | 3844.24                                                                |
| 19                                                                     | Manipur                                                                | 309.76                                                                 |
| 20                                                                     | Meghalaya                                                              | 163.31                                                                 |
| 21                                                                     | Mizoram                                                                | 212.98                                                                 |
| 22                                                                     | Odisha                                                                 | 5933.98                                                                |
| 23                                                                     | Punjab                                                                 | 1040.84                                                                |
| 24                                                                     | Rajasthan                                                              | 1748.26                                                                |
| 25                                                                     | Sikkim                                                                 | 392.36                                                                 |
| 26                                                                     | Tamil Nadu                                                             | 113.42                                                                 |
| 27                                                                     | Telangana                                                              | 3110.38                                                                |
| 28                                                                     | Tripura                                                                | 183.65                                                                 |
| 29                                                                     | Uttar Pradesh                                                          | 1819.63                                                                |
| 30                                                                     | Uttarakhand                                                            | 2675.09                                                                |
| 31                                                                     | West Bengal                                                            | 236.48                                                                 |
|                                                                        | Total                                                                  | 48477.77                                                               |

Annexure referred to in reply to part (c) of the Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 75 due for answer on 23.07.2021 regarding 'Forest Cover'

| State wise approved annual plan of operation by National Authority for the financial year 2019-20 and 2020-21. (Rs. In Crore)   | State wise approved annual plan of operation by National Authority for the financial year 2019-20 and 2020-21. (Rs. In Crore)   | State wise approved annual plan of operation by National Authority for the financial year 2019-20 and 2020-21. (Rs. In Crore)   | State wise approved annual plan of operation by National Authority for the financial year 2019-20 and 2020-21. (Rs. In Crore)   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Sl. No.                                                                                                                         | Name State/UTs                                                                                                                  | Year 2019-20                                                                                                                    | Year 2020-21                                                                                                                    |
| 1                                                                                                                               | Andaman &Nicobar                                                                                                                | 0.00*                                                                                                                           | 2.13                                                                                                                            |
| 2                                                                                                                               | Andhra Pradesh                                                                                                                  | 322.97                                                                                                                          | 330.82                                                                                                                          |
| 3                                                                                                                               | Arunachal Pradesh                                                                                                               | 0.00*                                                                                                                           | 155.46                                                                                                                          |
| 4                                                                                                                               | Assam                                                                                                                           | 55.89                                                                                                                           | 88.34                                                                                                                           |
| 5                                                                                                                               | Bihar                                                                                                                           | 140.18                                                                                                                          | 239.47                                                                                                                          |
| 6                                                                                                                               | Chandigarh                                                                                                                      | 1.87                                                                                                                            | 2.26                                                                                                                            |
| 7                                                                                                                               | Chhattisgarh                                                                                                                    | 848.51                                                                                                                          | 1346.92                                                                                                                         |
| 8                                                                                                                               | Goa                                                                                                                             | 0.00*                                                                                                                           | 19.55                                                                                                                           |
| 9                                                                                                                               | Gujarat                                                                                                                         | 17.95                                                                                                                           | 32.68                                                                                                                           |
| 10                                                                                                                              | Haryana                                                                                                                         | 0.00***                                                                                                                         | 240.69                                                                                                                          |
| 11                                                                                                                              | Himachal Pradesh                                                                                                                | 96.84                                                                                                                           | 203.95                                                                                                                          |
| 12                                                                                                                              | Jammu &Kashmir                                                                                                                  | 145.82                                                                                                                          | 158.38                                                                                                                          |
| 13                                                                                                                              | Jharkhand                                                                                                                       | 0.00***                                                                                                                         | 184.83                                                                                                                          |
| 14                                                                                                                              | Karnataka                                                                                                                       | 399.29                                                                                                                          | 376.56                                                                                                                          |
| 15                                                                                                                              | Kerala                                                                                                                          | 146.22                                                                                                                          | 212.94                                                                                                                          |
| 16                                                                                                                              | Ladakh                                                                                                                          | 0.00*                                                                                                                           | 15.79                                                                                                                           |
| 17                                                                                                                              | Madhya Pradesh                                                                                                                  | 506.38                                                                                                                          | 860.96                                                                                                                          |
| 18                                                                                                                              | Maharashtra                                                                                                                     | 499.38                                                                                                                          | 599.32                                                                                                                          |
| 19                                                                                                                              | Manipur                                                                                                                         | 30.36                                                                                                                           | 27.79                                                                                                                           |
| 20                                                                                                                              | Meghalaya                                                                                                                       | 0.00*                                                                                                                           | 33.97                                                                                                                           |
| 21                                                                                                                              | Mizoram                                                                                                                         | 19.23***                                                                                                                        | 32.66                                                                                                                           |
| 22                                                                                                                              | Odisha                                                                                                                          | 610.52******                                                                                                                    | 773.39                                                                                                                          |
| 23                                                                                                                              | Punjab                                                                                                                          | 64.73****                                                                                                                       | 177.85                                                                                                                          |
| 24                                                                                                                              | Rajasthan                                                                                                                       | 267.69                                                                                                                          | 280.98                                                                                                                          |
| 25                                                                                                                              | Sikkim                                                                                                                          | 54.38                                                                                                                           | 66.90                                                                                                                           |
| 26                                                                                                                              | Tamil Nadu                                                                                                                      | 0.00*                                                                                                                           | 66.63                                                                                                                           |
| 27                                                                                                                              | Telangana                                                                                                                       | 510.00                                                                                                                          | 483.78                                                                                                                          |
| 28                                                                                                                              | Tripura                                                                                                                         | 16.74                                                                                                                           | 21.51                                                                                                                           |
| 29                                                                                                                              | Uttar Pradesh                                                                                                                   | 285.68                                                                                                                          | 442.01                                                                                                                          |
| 30                                                                                                                              | Uttarakhand                                                                                                                     | 218.00                                                                                                                          | 353.64                                                                                                                          |
| 31                                                                                                                              | West Bengal                                                                                                                     | 70.07                                                                                                                           | 74.00                                                                                                                           |
|                                                                                                                                 | Total                                                                                                                           | 5328.7                                                                                                                          | 7906.16                                                                                                                         |

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (d) of the Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 75  due for answer on 23.07.2021 regarding 'Forest Cover' Land Area (in ha) Covered under Afforestation (As reported under Twenty Point Programme)

| Name of State/UT   | 2016-17   | 2017-18   | 2018-19   | 2019-20   |          2020-21 |
|--------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|------------------|
| Andhra Pradesh     | 274635    | 229409    | 312186    | 190432    | 227880           |
| Arunachal Pradesh  | NR        | NR        | 1614      | 108       |    969           |
| Assam              | NR        | NR        | NR        | NR        |  11917.8         |
| Bihar              | 43279     | 35114     | 21446     | 10588     |  61151.4         |
| Chhattisgarh       | 98697     | 26037     | 81644     | 18737     |  66998           |
| Goa                | 38        | 15        | 24        | 30        |    286.5         |
| Gujarat            | 168733    | 177148    | 31712     | 25149     | 206839           |
| Haryana            | 25474     | 17000     | 15639     | 21022     |  18055           |
| Himachal Pradesh   | 10052     | 9200      | 23406     | 20261     |  31284.4         |
| Jammu and Kashmir* | 7307      | 11371     | NR        | 4526      |  62143.8         |
| Jharkhand          | 21005     | 22729     | 15490     | 31476     |  37262.2         |
| Karnataka          | 61686     | 62108     | 41596     | 40304     |  80723           |
| Kerala             | 46695     | 1923      | 1222      | NR        |  21939.3         |
| Madhya Pradesh     | 99197     | NR        | NR        | 76708     |  87700           |
| Maharashtra        | 42100     | 37393     | 206615    | 501416    |  42831.3         |
| Manipur            | 12247     | 6442      | 5281      | 1856      |   8697.04        |
| Meghalaya          | NR        | 2743      | 780       | 785       |    765.19        |
| Mizoram            | 4050      | 4020      | 4407      | 4425      |   4436.28        |
| Nagaland           | NR        | NR        | 612       | 640       |   1992.3         |
| Orissa             | 401452    | 382364    | 73994     | 84130     | 170950           |
| Punjab             | 5469      | 6845      | 12177     | 24712     |  22622.2         |
| Rajasthan          | 66815     | 43873     | 34798     | 24533     |  33511.3         |
| Sikkim             | 3376      | 365       | 41        | 2510      |   4546.02        |
| Tamil Nadu         | 39790     | 33147     | 40882     | 14532     |  36034           |
| Telangana          | 438059    | 489673    | 453325    | 564760    | 407141           |
| Tripura            | 4070      | 4858      | 8112      | 33747     |   8297.27        |
| Uttarakhand        | 18251     | 21397     | 20713     | 22396     |  33183.5         |
| Uttar Pradesh      | 92128     | 51513     | NR        | 347670    | 398069           |
| West Bengal        | 2722      | 10653     | NR        | NR        | 112860           |
| A &NIslands        | 1125      | 713       | 3896      | 2421      |   2638.45        |
| Chandigarh         | 178       | 176       | 180       | 123       |    147.57        |
| D &NHaveli         | 220       | 200       | 21        | 225       |   1432           |
| Daman &Diu         | 10        | 15        | NR        | 60        |     44.25        |
| Delhi              | 1299      | NR        | NR        | 3956      |   4727.84        |
| Lakshadweep        | NR        | NR        | NR        | NR        |      0.73        |
| Puducherry         | 250       | 63        | 52        | 80        |    994.07        |
| Total :            | 1990409   | 1688507   | 1411865   | 2074319   |      2.21107e+06 |

*2020-21 Data includes both Ladakh and J&K

NR- Not Reported