Lok Sabha Question No. 1962 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-13
Subject: Afforestation Schemes
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Gowdar Mallikarjunappa Siddeshwara

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 1962 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13/03/2023

## Afforestation Schemes

## 1962.  SHRI G.M. SIDDESHWAR:

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

- (a) whether the forest cover in the country has increased according to the India State of Forest Report, 2021, and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the progress in the implementation of afforestation schemes and the funds released for the purpose during the last five years and the current year, State-wise; and
- (c) the  details  of  the  action  plan  of  the  Government  with  the  objective  of  maintaining  the ecosystem and increasing the forest area in the country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY):

(a) The 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 latest ISFR 2021, the total forest cover of the country is 7,13,789 square kilometre which is 21.72% 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 State/UTs wise details of forest cover as per ISFR 2021 is given in Annexure I.

(b) &  (c)  In  order  to  restore  ecosystems  and  increase  the  forest  cover  in  the  country, afforestation  and  tree  plantation  activities  are  undertaken  by  States/UTs.  The  Ministry provides  financial  assistance  to  States/UTs  under  various  Centrally  Sponsored  Schemes namely  Green  India  Mission  to  support  and  supplement  the  efforts  of  States  and  Union Territories. National Mission for a Green India (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 non-forest areas. GIM activities started in the Financial Year 201516.

So  far,  a  sum  of  Rs.  728.21  Crores  have  been  released  to  sixteen  States  and  one  union territory for afforestation activities, over an area of 1,36,808 hectare. The State-wise details of funds released during the last five years and current year is given in Annexure-II.

The  Ministry  is  implementing  Nagar  Van  Yojana  (NVY)  since  the  year  2020  which envisages creation of 400 Nagar Vans and 200 Nagar Vatika in the country during the period 2020-21 to 2024-25 under the funds available under National Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAMPA). The Nagar Van Yojana aims to enhance the green cover in the urban and peri-urban areas including biological diversity, provide ecological benefits and improve the quality of life of city dwellers. So far, the Ministry has approved 270 projects under Nagar Van Yojana with the total cost of Rs.238.64 Crore.

The Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAMPA fund) are being utilized by States/UTs for taking  up  compensatory  afforestation  as  per  approved  Annual  Plan  of  Operations  for compensating  the loss of forest &  tree cover due to diversion of forest land for developmental  projects  as  per  provisions  of  Compensatory  Afforestation  Fund  Act,  2016 (CAF  Act)  and  CAF  Rules,  2018.  In  addition  to  this,  area  specific  provisions  such  as preparation  of  Catchment  Area  Treatment  Plan,  Wildlife  Conservation  Plan,  Soil  and Moisture Conservation Plan, etc.  are also stipulated to mitigate the impacts of diversion of forest  lands.   The  details  of  CAMPA  funds  released  to  the  States/UTs  during  2018-19  to 2022-23 are enclosed at Annexure-III.

Afforestation  activities  are  also  taken  up  under  various  programs  and  schemes  of  line Ministry such as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, National Bamboo Mission, Sub-Mission on Agroforestry etc. and under schemes of State Government /UT  Administration  through  different  departments,  Non-Government  Organizations,  Civil Society,  Corporate  bodies  etc.  The multi  departmental  efforts  have  yielded  good  results  in conserving and enhancing forest cover in the country.

********

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1962 due for answer on 13.03.2023 regarding 'Afforestation Schemes '

## State/UTs details of Forest Cover as per ISFR 2021

## (Area in square kilometre)

|   S. N o. | State/UT          | Geo- graphic al Area (GA)   | Total Forest Cover   |   Percent age of Geograp hical area |   Change in Forest Cover w.r.t ISFR 2019 |   Change Percentage w.r.t. 2019 assessment | Scrub   |
|-----------|-------------------|-----------------------------|----------------------|-------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------|---------|
|         1 | Andhra Pradesh    | 1,62,96 8                   | 29,784               |                               18.28 |                                   647    |                                       2.22 | 8,276   |
|         2 | Arunachal Pradesh | 83,743                      | 66,431               |                               79.33 |                                  -257    |                                      -0.39 | 797     |
|         3 | Assam             | 78,438                      | 28,312               |                               36.09 |                                   -15    |                                      -0.05 | 228     |
|         4 | Bihar             | 94,163                      | 7,381                |                                7.84 |                                    75    |                                       1.03 | 236     |
|         5 | Chhattisgarh      | 1,35,19 2                   | 55,717               |                               41.21 |                                   106    |                                       0.19 | 615     |
|         6 | Delhi             | 1,483                       | 195.00               |                               13.15 |                                    -0.44 |                                      -0.23 | 0.38    |
|         7 | Goa               | 3,702                       | 2,244                |                               60.62 |                                     7    |                                       0.31 | 0       |
|         8 | Gujarat           | 1,96,24 4                   | 14,926               |                                7.61 |                                    69    |                                       0.46 | 2,828   |
|         9 | Haryana           | 44,212                      | 1,603                |                                3.63 |                                     1    |                                       0.06 | 159     |
|        10 | Himachal Pradesh  | 55,673                      | 15,443               |                               27.73 |                                     9    |                                       0.06 | 322     |
|        11 | Jharkhand         | 79,716                      | 23,721               |                               29.76 |                                   110    |                                       0.47 | 584     |
|        12 | Karnataka         | 1,91,79 1                   | 38,730               |                               20.19 |                                   155    |                                       0.4  | 4,611   |
|        13 | Kerala            | 38,852                      | 21,253               |                               54.7  |                                   109    |                                       0.52 | 30      |
|        14 | Madhya Pradesh    | 3,08,25 2                   | 77,493               |                               25.14 |                                    11    |                                       0.01 | 5,457   |
|        15 | Maharashtra       | 3,07,71 3                   | 50,798               |                               16.51 |                                    20    |                                       0.04 | 4,247   |
|        16 | Manipur           | 22,327                      | 16,598               |                               74.34 |                                  -249    |                                      -1.48 | 1,215   |
|        17 | Meghalaya         | 22,429                      | 17,046               |                               76    |                                   -73    |                                      -0.43 | 663     |
|        18 | Mizoram           | 21,081                      | 17,820               |                               84.53 |                                  -186    |                                      -1.03 | 1       |
|        19 | Nagaland          | 16,579                      | 12,251               |                               73.9  |                                  -235    |                                      -1.88 | 824     |
|        20 | Odisha            | 1,55,70 7                   | 52,156               |                               33.5  |                                   537    |                                       1.04 | 4,924   |
|        21 | Punjab            | 50,362                      | 1,847                |                                3.67 |                                    -2    |                                      -0.11 | 34      |
|        22 | Rajasthan         | 3,42,23 9                   | 16,655               |                                4.87 |                                    25    |                                       0.15 | 4,809   |
|        23 | Sikkim            | 7,096                       | 3,341                |                               47.08 |                                    -1    |                                      -0.03 | 296     |

| 24    | Tamil Nadu                         | 1,30,06 0   | 26,419   |   20.31 | 55    |   0.21 | 758    |
|-------|------------------------------------|-------------|----------|---------|-------|--------|--------|
| 25    | Telangana                          | 1,12,07 7   | 21,214   |   18.93 | 632   |   3.07 | 2,911  |
| 26    | Tripura                            | 10,486      | 7,722    |   73.64 | -4    |  -0.05 | 33     |
| 27    | Uttar Pradesh                      | 2,40,92 8   | 14,818   |    6.15 | 12    |   0.08 | 563    |
| 28    | Uttarakhand                        | 53,483      | 24,305   |   45.44 | 2     |   0.01 | 392    |
| 29    | West Bengal                        | 88,752      | 16,832   |   18.96 | -70   |  -0.41 | 156    |
| 30    | A &NIslands                        | 8,249       | 6,744    |   81.75 | 1     |   0.01 | 1      |
| 31    | Chandigarh                         | 114         | 22.88    |   20.07 | 0.85  |   3.86 | 0.38   |
| 32    | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman& Diu | 602         | 227.75   |   37.83 | 0.10  |   0.04 | 4.85   |
| 33    | Jammu& Kashmir                     | 2,22,23     | 21,387   |   39.15 | 29    |   0.14 | 284    |
| 34    | Ladakh                             | 6           | 2,272    |    1.35 | 18    |   0.8  | 279    |
| 35    | Lakshadweep                        | 30          | 27.10    |   90.33 | 0.00  |   0    | 0.00   |
| 36    | Puducherry                         | 490         | 53.30    |   10.88 | 0.89  |   1.7  | 0.00   |
| Total | Total                              | 32,87,4 69  | 7,13,789 |   21.71 | 1,540 |   0.22 | 46,539 |

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1962 due for answer on 13.03.2023 regarding 'Afforestation Schemes '

## Details of funds released from 2017-18 to 2022-23 under the scheme National Mission for a Green India

(Rupees in Crore)

| S. No.            | States       | 2017-18   | 2018-19   | 2019-20   | 2020-21   | 2021-22   | 2022-23   |
|-------------------|--------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| 1 Andhra          | Pradesh 0.45 | 2.67      | Nil       | Nil       | 2.02      | Nil       |           |
| Arunachal Pradesh | Nil          | Nil       | Nil       | Nil       | 13.43     | Nil       | 2         |
| Chhattisgarh      | 10.95        | 5.36      | 5.04      | 1.66      | 6.12      | Nil       | 3         |
| Haryana           | Nil          | Nil       | Nil       | Nil       | 9.55      | Nil       | 4         |
| Himachal Pradesh  | Nil          | Nil       | Nil       | 17.09     | Nil       | Nil       | 5         |
| Jammu& Kashmir    | Nil          | Nil       | Nil       | 25.73     | Nil       | 6.49      | 6         |
| Karnataka         | 0.86         | 1.62      | 2.21      | 2.35      | 4.45      | 2.93      | 7         |
| Kerala            | Nil          | Nil       | 16.32     | Nil       | Nil       | Nil       | 8         |
| Madhya Pradesh    | Nil          | 24.16     | 30.65     | Nil       | 18.29     | 17.93     | 9         |
| Maharashtra       | Nil          | 10.30     |           | Nil       | Nil       | Nil       | 10        |
| Manipur           | 6.42         | 4.89      | 4.16      | 6.74      | 9.93      | 5.45      | 11        |
| Mizoram           | 20.00        | 22.36     | 17.71     | 2.99      | 29.86     | 36.27     | 12        |
| Odisha            | 1.41         | 4.74      | 14.19     | 26.01     | 17.74     | 8.48      | 13        |
| 14 Punjab         | 6.22         |           | 3.19      |           | 3.32      |           | 2.7393    |
| Sikkim            | Nil          | 3.32      | 3.12      | 2.19      | 7.77      | 6.57      | 15        |
| Uttarakhand       | Nil          | Nil       | Nil       | 27.89     | 33.99     | 28.40     | 16        |
| West Bengal       | Nil          | Nil       | 9.43      | Nil       | Nil       | 0.76      | 17        |
| Total             | Total        | 46.30     | 79.43     | 106.01    | 112.65    | 156.46    | 116.01    |

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1962 due for answer on 13.03.2023 regarding 'Afforestation Schemes '

Details of CAMPA fund released to State/UTs during 2018-19 to 2022-23.

| Sl.   |                   | Funds Released    | Funds Released     | Funds Released   | (Amount in Rupees)   | (Amount in Rupees)   |
|-------|-------------------|-------------------|--------------------|------------------|----------------------|----------------------|
| No.   | State/UT          | 2018-19           | 2019-20            | 2020-21          | 2021-22              | 2022-23              |
| 1     | Andaman& Nicobar  | 1,56,00,000.00    | Nil                | 16,41,18,034.00  | Nil                  | Nil                  |
| 2     | Andhra Pradesh    | 1,04,47,00,000.00 | 17,34,81,40,177.00 | Nil              | 1,14,05,48,162.00    | Nil                  |
| 3     | Arunachal Pradesh | 3,54,15,00,000.00 | 15,88,71,93,258.00 | Nil              | 6,12,94,58,249.00    | Nil                  |
| 4     | Assam             | 45,84,00,000.00   | 5,60,80,73,954.00  | Nil              | -                    | 1,48,33,97,176.00    |
| 5     | Bihar             | 46,61,90,000.00   | 5,22,94,75,017.00  | Nil              | 43,63,92,536.00      | Nil                  |
| 6     | Chandigarh        | 1,27,00,000.00    | 11,37,92,289.00    | Nil              | -                    | Nil                  |
| 7     | Chhattisgarh      | Nil               | 57,91,70,20,385.00 | Nil              | 2,07,50,40,301.00    | Nil                  |
| 8     | Dadar&Nagar       | Nil               | Nil                | Nil              | 22,87,00,439.00      | Nil                  |
| 9     | Daman &Diu        | Nil               | Nil                | Nil              | -                    | Nil                  |
| 10    | Delhi             | Nil               | Nil                | Nil              | 1,38,17,38,583.00    | Nil                  |
| 11    | Goa               | Nil               | 2,38,15,66,295.00  | Nil              | Nil                  | Nil                  |
| 12    | Gujarat           | 2,12,66,00,000.00 | 14,84,60,03,080.00 | Nil              | Nil                  | Nil                  |
| 13    | Haryana           | 1,44,20,00,000.00 | 12,82,65,30,878.00 | Nil              | Nil                  | Nil                  |

| 14                | Himachal Pradesh   | 1,32,52,00,000.00         | 16,60,72,19,227.00        | Nil                       | Nil                       | Nil                       |
|-------------------|--------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|
| 15 Jammu&Kashmir  | Nil                | 5,10,11,54,800.00         | 3,56,19,88,860.00         | Nil                       | Nil                       |                           |
| 16 Jharkhand      | 2,86,25,00,000.00  | 41,58,01,69,322.00        | Nil                       |                           | Nil                       | Nil                       |
| 17 Karnataka      | 1,01,40,00,000.00  | 13,50,37,43,189.00        |                           | Nil                       | Nil                       | Nil                       |
| 18 Kerala         |                    | 14,61,00,000.00           | 81,58,66,102.00           | Nil                       | Nil                       | Nil                       |
| 19 Ladakh(UT)     | Nil                |                           | Nil                       | 2,49,27,14,340.00         | Nil                       | Nil                       |
| 20 Lakshdweep(UT) | Nil                |                           | Nil                       | Nil                       | Nil                       | Nil                       |
| 21 Madhya         | Pradesh            | 2,68,76,00,000.00         | 51,96,69,19,315.00 Nil    |                           | 9,90,82,99,200.00         | Nil                       |
| 22                | Maharashtra        | 2,25,00,00,000.00         | 38,44,24,19,155.00        | Nil                       | 2,85,22,21,971.00         | Nil                       |
| 23 Manipur        |                    | 24,85,00,000.00           | 3,09,76,18,132.00         | Nil                       | 36,43,61,620.00           | Nil                       |
| Meghalaya         |                    | Nil                       | 1,63,30,65,753.00         | Nil                       | Nil Nil                   | 24                        |
| 25 Mizoram        |                    | 8,30,00,000.00            | 2,12,98,47,833.00         | Nil                       | Nil                       | Nil                       |
| 26 Nagaland       | Nil                |                           | Nil                       | Nil                       | Nil                       | Nil                       |
| 27 Orissa         |                    | 5,54,00,00,000.00         | 59,33,98,06,189.00        | Nil                       | 3,47,27,30,804.00         | Nil                       |
|                   |                    | Funds Released (Amount in | Funds Released (Amount in | Funds Released (Amount in | Funds Released (Amount in | Funds Released (Amount in |
| Sl. No.           | State/UT           | 2018-19                   | 2019-20                   | Rupees) 2020-21           | 2021-22                   | 2022-23                   |
| 28 Puducherry(UT) | Nil                |                           | Nil                       | Nil                       | Nil                       | Nil                       |
| 29                | Punjab             | 79,20,00,000.00           | 10,40,84,37,006.00        | Nil                       | Nil                       | 29,49,32,090.00           |

| 30   | Rajasthan     | 1,82,03,00,000.00   | 17,48,25,94,648.00   | Nil               | Nil                | Nil               |
|------|---------------|---------------------|----------------------|-------------------|--------------------|-------------------|
| 31   | Sikkim        | -                   | 3,92,36,08,568.00    | Nil               | Nil                | 10,20,08,491.00   |
| 32   | Tamil Nadu    | 7,00,00,000.00      | 1,13,41,93,727.00    | Nil               | Nil                | Nil               |
| 33   | Telangana     | 2,37,38,00,000.00   | 31,10,38,02,776.00   | Nil               | Nil                | 67,76,22,192.00   |
| 34   | Tripura       | 16,70,00,000.00     | 1,83,65,13,688.00    | Nil               | 47,99,87,468.00    | Nil               |
| 35   | Uttar Pradesh | 1,50,60,00,000.00   | 18,19,62,67,880.00   | Nil               | Nil                | Nil               |
| 36   | Uttarakhand   | 3,03,00,00,000.00   | 26,75,09,03,454.00   | Nil               | Nil                | 1,18,99,55,031.00 |
| 37   | West Bengal   | 21,22,00,000.00     | 2,36,47,68,181.00    | Nil               | Nil                | 69,28,38,990.00   |
|      | TOTAL         | 35,23,58,90,000.00  | 4,79,57,67,14,278.00 | 6,21,88,21,234.00 | 28,46,94,79,333.00 | 4,44,07,53,970.00 |