Lok Sabha Question No. 2031 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-14
Subject: Notified Forest Area
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Jyotsna Charandas Mahant

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 2031

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 14.03.2022

## Notified Forest Area

## 2031. SHRIMATI  JYOTSNA  CHARANDAS  MAHANT:

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

- (a) whether  the  data  of  notified  forest  area  in  the  States  including  Chhattisgarh  is compiled by the Central Government and if so, the details thereof, State-wise;
- (b) whether any scheme/programme has been made by the Central Government for the development, promotion and protection of medicinal trees/ plants like Mahua, Char, Chironji, Harra in the tribal forests of Chhattisgarh and if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) whether any plan has also been made to stop activities like encroachment and illegal mining in forest areas?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) The land is notified as Reserve Forests by the concerned State Government under the provision  of  Indian  Forest  Act,  1927.  The  information  on  Recorded  Forest  Area including  Reserved  Forests,  Protected  Forests  and  Unclassed  Forests  as  received from States and Union Territories including the State of Chhattisgarh are compiled and  presented  in  India  State  of  Forest  Report  (ISFR)  2021,  which    is  given  at Annexure.
- (b) In order to promote medicinal plant sector in the country, Government of India set up the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) on 24th November 2000. Currently the Board is working under the Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani,  Siddha  &  Homoeopathy),  Government  of  India.  The  primary  mandate  of NMPB  is  to  develop  an  appropriate  mechanism  for  coordination  among  various ministries/ departments/ organizations, and implementation of support policies/programs for overall (conservation, cultivation, trade and export) growth of medicinal  plants  sector  both  at  the  Central  /State  and  international  levels.  The National  Medicinal  Plants  Board,  Ministry  of  AYUSH  is  implementing  a  Central Sector  Scheme  on  Conservation,  Development  and  Sustainable  Management  of Medicinal  Plants  under  which  it  is  providing  project  based  financial  assistance  to State Governments (State Forest Departments & Other agencies etc.) for protection of  medicinal plant resources throughout the country. Under the scheme, the in-situ conservation of medicinal plants in their natural habitats is being carried out through development of Medicinal Plants Conservation and Development Areas (MPCDAs).
- (c) Since,  the  protection  and  management  of  forests  is  primarily  the  responsibility  of concerned  State/UT,  whenever  any  complaint  regarding  encroachment  and  illegal mining is received, the same is forwarded to the concerned State/ Union Territories for  taking  appropriate  actions  as  per  the  extant  Acts,  Rules  and  Regulations.  The States  and  Union  Territories  also  take  various  measures  such  as  demarcation  and digitization  of  forest  boundaries,  strengthening  infrastructure  for  forest  protection, involving fringe area forest communities such as Joint Forest  Management Committees, Eco Development Committees etc. to prevent and control encroachments. The Ministry has written to State Governments and Union Territory Administrations  to  remove  encroachment  and  ensure  that  no  further  encroachment takes place as per the existing Acts/Rules.

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## Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.  2031 due for answer on 14.03.2022 regarding 'Notified Forest Area'

## Recorded Forest Areas (RFA) in States/UTs as per ISFR-2021 (Area in square kilometre)

Sl. No.

| Sl. No.              | State/ UT                                  | Geographical Area (GA)   | RFA (in different categories)   | RFA (in different categories)   | RFA (in different categories)   | Total RFA (2021)   |
|----------------------|--------------------------------------------|--------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|--------------------|
| Sl. No.              | State/ UT                                  | Geographical Area (GA)   | Reserved Forest                 | Protected Forest                | Unclassed Forests*              | Total RFA (2021)   |
| 1.                   | Andhra Pradesh                             | 1,62,968                 | 31,959                          | 5,069                           | 230                             | 37,258             |
| 2.                   | Arunachal Pradesh                          | 83,743                   | 12,371                          | 11,857                          | 27,312                          | 51,540             |
| 3.                   | Assam                                      | 78,438                   | 17,864                          | 0                               | 8,972                           | 26,836             |
| 4.                   | Bihar                                      | 94,163                   | 693                             | 6,183                           | 566                             | 7,442              |
| 5.                   | Chhattisgarh                               | 1,35,192                 | 25,897                          | 24,036                          | 9,883                           | 59,816             |
| 6.                   | Delhi                                      | 1,483                    | 78                              | 25                              | 0                               | 103                |
| 7.                   | Goa                                        | 3,702                    | 119                             | 755                             | 397                             | 1,271              |
| 8.                   | Gujarat                                    | 196,244                  | 14,574                          | 2,898                           | 4,398                           | 21,870             |
| 9.                   | Haryana                                    | 44,212                   | 249                             | 1,158                           | 152                             | 1,559              |
| 10.                  | Himachal Pradesh                           | 55,673                   | 1,883                           | 28,887                          | 7,178                           | 37,948             |
| 11.                  | Jharkhand                                  | 79,716                   | 4,500                           | 18,922                          | 1,696                           | 25,118             |
| 12.                  | Karnataka                                  | 191,791                  | 28,690                          | 3,931                           | 5,663                           | 38,284             |
| 13.                  | Kerala                                     | 38,852                   | 11,522                          | 0                               | 0                               | 11,522             |
| 14.                  | Madhya Pradesh                             | 3,08,252                 | 61,886                          | 31,098                          | 1,705                           | 94,689             |
| 15.                  | Maharashtra                                | 3,07,713                 | 50,865                          | 6,433                           | 4,654                           | 61,952             |
| 16.                  | Manipur                                    | 22,327                   | 984                             | 3,254                           | 13,180                          | 17,418             |
| 17.                  | Meghalaya                                  | 22,429                   | 1,113                           | 12                              | 8,371                           | 9,496              |
| 18.                  | Mizoram                                    | 21,081                   | 4,499                           | 1,823                           | 1,157                           | 7,479              |
| 19.                  | Nagaland                                   | 16,579                   | 234                             | 0                               | 8,389                           | 8,623              |
| 20.                  | Odisha                                     | 1,55,707                 | 36,049                          | 25,133                          | 22                              | 61,204             |
| 21.                  | Punjab                                     | 50,362                   | 44                              | 1,137                           | 1,903                           | 3,084              |
| 22.                  | Rajasthan                                  | 3,42,239                 | 12,176                          | 18,543                          | 2,144                           | 32,863             |
| 23.                  | Sikkim                                     | 7,096                    | 5,452                           | 389                             | 0                               | 5,841              |
| 24.                  | Tamil Nadu                                 | 1,30,060                 | 20,523                          | 1,053                           | 1,612                           | 23,188             |
| 25.                  | Telangana                                  | 1,12,077                 | 25,800                          | 1,592                           | 296                             | 27,688             |
| 26.                  | Tripura                                    | 10,486                   | 3,588                           | 2                               | 2,704                           | 6,294              |
| 27.                  | Uttar Pradesh**                            | 2,40,928                 | 11,560                          | 296                             | 5,528                           | 17,384             |
| 28.                  | Uttarakhand                                | 53,483                   | 26,547                          | 9,885                           | 1,568                           | 38,000             |
| 29.                  | West Bengal                                | 88,752                   | 7,054                           | 3,772                           | 1,053                           | 11,879             |
| 30.                  | A &NIslands                                | 8,249                    | 5,613                           | 1,558                           | 0                               | 7,171              |
| 31.                  | Chandigarh                                 | 114                      | 32                              | 0                               | 3                               | 35                 |
| 32.                  | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu         | 602                      | 203                             | 5                               | 6                               | 214                |
| 33.                  | Jammu& Kashmir Shape file Area*** (54,624) |                          | 17,648                          | 2,551                           | 0                               | 20,199             |
| 34.                  | Ladakh Shape file Area***                  | 2,22,236                 | 7                               | 0                               | 0                               | 7                  |
| 35.                  | Lakshadweep                                | Lakshadweep              | 30                              | 0 0                             | 0                               | 0                  |
| 36. Puducherry Total | 36. Puducherry Total                       | 36. Puducherry Total     | 490 32,87,469 4,42,276          | 0 2 2,12,259                    | 11 1,20,753                     | 13 7,75,288        |