Lok Sabha Question No. 175 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-07-18
Subject: Forest Cover in the Country
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Malook Nagar

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 175

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 18.07.2022

## Forest Cover in the Country

## 175.   SHRI MALOOK NAGAR:

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

- (a) the forest area in hectares in the country and State/UT-wise percentage of such forest area;
- (b) the national average of forest area in terms of hectare and percentage;
- (c) whether the Government proposes to take new initiative to increase the forest cover in the country; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

- (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 wallto-wall  mapping  exercise  based  on  remote  sensing  supported  by  intensive  ground verification and field data from National Forest Inventory. As per the latest ISFR-2021, the  total  forest  cover  of  the  country  is  7,13,78,903  hectare  which  is  21.71%  of  the geographical area of the country. The State and Union Territories wise details of forest cover as per ISFR 2021is given at Annexure.
- (c)  &  (d)  Various  schemes are being implemented by the Central and State Government/Union Territory      Administration  for  increase  in  forest  and  tree  cover  in  the  country.  These includes the National Afforestation Programme (NAP) and Green India Mission (GIM) being  implemented  by  the  Ministry  of  Environment,  Forest  and  Climate  Change. National Afforestation Programme is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for regeneration of degraded forest and adjoining areas in the country. The scheme has been implemented through 3 tier institutional setup of State Forest Development Agency (SFDA) at State level,  Forest  Development  agency  (FDA)  at  Forest  Division  level  and  Joint  Forest

Management  Committees  (JFMCs)  at  Village  level.  Now  NAP  scheme  has  been merged with Green India Mission.  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 means of plantation activities in the forest and non-forest areas.

Afforestation  activities  are  also  taken  up  under  various  programmes/funding  sources such  as  Compensatory  Afforestation  Funds  under  Compensatory  Afforestation  Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), afforestation activities under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA), National Agroforestry Policy and Sub-mission on Agro-forestry (SMAF), National Bamboo Mission and National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture. In addition to above, State and UT Governments have their own afforestation and reforestation programmes. Almost every State has activities under social forestry, which largely focuses on tree planting in the areas outside forests.

*****

## Annexure

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 175 due for answer on 18.07.2022 regarding 'Forest Cover in the country'

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

(Area in hectare )

| S. No.             | State/UTs                          | Geographical Area   | Total Forest Cover   |   Percentage of Geographical area |
|--------------------|------------------------------------|---------------------|----------------------|-----------------------------------|
| 1                  | Andhra Pradesh                     | 1,62,96,800         | 29,78,004            |                             18.28 |
| 2                  | Arunachal Pradesh                  | 83,74,300           | 66,43,100            |                             79.33 |
| 3                  | Assam                              | 78,43,800           | 28,31,200            |                             36.09 |
| 4                  | Bihar                              | 94,16,300           | 7,38,100             |                              7.84 |
| 5                  | Chhattisgarh                       | 1,35,19,200         | 55,71,700            |                             41.21 |
| 6                  | Delhi                              | 1,48,300            | 19,500               |                             13.15 |
| 7                  | Goa                                | 3,70,200            | 2,24,400             |                             60.62 |
| 8                  | Gujarat                            | 1,96,24,400         | 14,92,600            |                              7.61 |
| 9                  | Haryana                            | 44,21,200           | 1,60,300             |                              3.63 |
| 10                 | Himachal Pradesh                   | 55,67,300           | 15,44,300            |                             27.73 |
| 11                 | Jharkhand                          | 79,71,600           | 23,72,100            |                             29.76 |
| 12                 | Karnataka                          | 1,91,79,100         | 38,73,000            |                             20.19 |
| 13                 | Kerala                             | 38,85,200           | 21,25,300            |                             54.7  |
| 14                 | Madhya Pradesh                     | 3,08,25,200         | 77,49,300            |                             25.14 |
| 15                 | Maharashtra                        | 3,07,71,300         | 50,79,800            |                             16.51 |
| 16                 | Manipur                            | 22,32,700           | 16,59,800            |                             74.34 |
| 17                 | Meghalaya                          | 22,42,900           | 17,04,600            |                             76    |
| 18                 | Mizoram                            | 21,08,100           | 17,82,000            |                             84.53 |
| 19                 | Nagaland                           | 16,57,900           | 12,25,100            |                             73.9  |
| 20                 | Odisha                             | 1,55,70,700         | 52,15,600            |                             33.5  |
| 21                 | Punjab                             | 50,36,200           | 1,84,700             |                              3.67 |
| 22                 | Rajasthan                          | 3,42,23,900         | 16,65,500            |                              4.87 |
| 23                 | Sikkim                             | 7,09,600            | 3,34,100             |                             47.08 |
| 24                 | Tamil Nadu                         | 1,30,06,000         | 26,41,900            |                             20.31 |
| 25                 | Telangana                          | 1,12,07,700         | 21,21,400            |                             18.93 |
| 26                 | Tripura                            | 10,48,600           | 7,72,200             |                             73.64 |
| 27                 | Uttar Pradesh                      | 2,40,92,800         | 14,81,800            |                              6.15 |
| 28                 | Uttarakhand                        | 53,48,300           | 24,30,500            |                             45.44 |
| 29                 | West Bengal                        | 88,75,200           | 16,83,200            |                             18.96 |
| 30                 | A&NIslands                         | 8,24,900            | 6,74,400             |                             81.75 |
| 31                 | Chandigarh                         | 11,400              | 2,288                |                             20.07 |
| 32                 | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu | 60,200              | 22,775               |                             37.83 |
| 33                 | Jammu & Kashmir (54,624)           | 2,22,23,600         | 21,38,700            |                             39.15 |
| 34                 | Ladakh (1,68,055)                  | 2,22,23,600         | 2,27,200             |                              1.35 |
| 35                 | Lakshadweep                        | 3,000               | 2,710                |                             90.33 |
| 36 Puducherry      | 36 Puducherry                      | 49,000              | 5,330                |                             10.88 |
| Total 32,87,46,900 | Total 32,87,46,900                 | Total 32,87,46,900  | 7,13,78,903          |                             21.71 |