Lok Sabha Question No. 333 (STARRED), answered on 2025-03-24
Subject: Diversion of Forest Land for Developmental Activities
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Shri Raja Ram Singh

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

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO: 333

TO BE ANSWERED ON 24.03.2025

## Diversion of Forest Land for Developmental Activities

## 333*.   SHRI RAJA RAM SINGH:

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

- (a) whether  it  is  a  fact  that  the  India  State  of  Forest  Report  (ISFR)  2023  has  not  been scientifically prepared;
- (b) whether the said Report suggest exclusion of data relating to the diversification of large tracts of  forests  for  developmental  activities  between  1996  and  2023,  if  so,  the  reaction  of  the Government thereto;
- (c) whether the Government has maintained the record of forest land used for developmental activities between 1996 and 2023;
- (d) if  so,  the  details  of  forest  land  diverted  for  developmental  activities  since  last  ten  years, State/district-wise; and
- (e) whether the Government has conducted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of forest land diversion for developmental projects, if so, the details thereof?

## 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 referred to in reply to part (a) to (e) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No.333 due for reply on 24.03.2025 regarding 'Diversion of Forest Land for Developmental Activities' by Shri Raja Ram Singh:

- (a) Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun, is an organization under the Ministry of Environment,  Forest  &  Climate  Change,  carries  out  wall-to-wall  Forest  Cover Mapping (FCM) of the country in every two years cycle and publishes the findings in the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) since 1987. FSI has published 18 ISFRs so far, the latest being ISFR 2023.

The first report of 1987 used LANDSAT-MSS satellite data with a spatial resolution of 80 m at 1:1 million scale whereas the latest report i.e. ISFR 2023 is based on Resourcesat-2 LISS III satellite image, with a spatial resolution of 23.5 m and scale of  1:50,000.  FSI  has  always  kept  pace  with  technological  advancements  and improved  its  assessment  over  the  years.  Further,  the  National  Forest  Inventory programme of FSI is based on a robust statistical design under which every year field inventory data is collected from about 20,000 sample plots spread over the entire country and this field data is additionally used for supporting FCM.

To  ensure  scientific  accuracy,  transparency,  reliable  ground  truthing  and  correct assessment of forest cover, FSI increased its ground truthing points from 3,414 in ISFR  2021  to  8,494  in  ISFR  2023.  As  mentioned  in  ISFR  2023,  FCM  has  an accuracy of 96.32%.

Thus, the ISFR serves as a scientific document that offers updated assessments of the  nation's  forest  resources  and  provides  a  comprehensive    overview  of  India's forest and tree resources, employing a robust and established methodology.

- (b) Forest  cover  mapping  for  preparation  of  ISFR  encompasses  all  types  of  lands without regard to their ownership, land use, or legal status . The methodology used by  the  Forest  Survey  of  India  for  assessment  of  forest  cover  are  based  on internationally accepted criteria as per Decision 19/Conference of Parties (CoP) 9Kyoto Protocol. Accordingly, assessment of forest cover includes all lands, more than 1 hectare in area, with a canopy of more than 10% irrespective of ownership and legal status.
- (c)&(d)   The Central Government has launched an online portal namely PARIVESH for the purpose of submitting and processing proposals for non-forest use of forestland. The detail for each proposal is available on the portal which is in public domain.

During the period from 2014-15 to 2023-24, the forest area measuring 1,73,396.87 hectares has been approved for various non-forestry purposes including infrastructure projects under the provisions of Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980. The State/UT wise details of diverted forest land is enclosed at Annexure .

- (e) Environmental Clearances (ECs) are granted under the provisions of the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006, under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.  EIA Notification, 2006 includes four stages of evaluation

before  grant  of  Environmental  Clearance  namely  screening,  scoping,  public consultation and appraisal. The projects/activities are assigned Terms of References based on scoping by the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) to prepare Environment Impact Assessment Report (EIA)/ Environment Management Plan (EMP). These reports are then appraised by the EAC as mandated in EIA, Notification, 2006. The EIA/ EMP report prepared by the Project Proponents through accredited consultants are  based  on  scientific  study  by  taking  into  consideration  of  environmental sensitivity such as Ecological area, Forest, Wildlife sanctuary/ National Parks, etc. Based on the evaluation of EIA/EMP report and after thorough discussion/deliberation, EAC recommends the mining projects with certain specific and standard conditions to safeguard environment including the flora and fauna.

****

| Statement Showing State wise area approved (in Hectare) for use of land non-forestry purpose under Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam 1980   | Statement Showing State wise area approved (in Hectare) for use of land non-forestry purpose under Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam 1980   | Statement Showing State wise area approved (in Hectare) for use of land non-forestry purpose under Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam 1980   |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Category : All Categories                                                                                                                            | Category : All Categories                                                                                                                            | During the Period : 01.04.2014 to 31.03.2024                                                                                                         |
| S. No.                                                                                                                                               | STATE / UT                                                                                                                                           | Area Approved (in Ha.)                                                                                                                               |
| 1                                                                                                                                                    | Andaman and Nicobar                                                                                                                                  | 123.20                                                                                                                                               |
| 2                                                                                                                                                    | Andhra Pradesh                                                                                                                                       | 5455.99                                                                                                                                              |
| 3                                                                                                                                                    | Arunachal Pradesh                                                                                                                                    | 9495.98                                                                                                                                              |
| 4                                                                                                                                                    | Assam                                                                                                                                                | 1720.17                                                                                                                                              |
| 5                                                                                                                                                    | Bihar                                                                                                                                                | 2780.64                                                                                                                                              |
| 6                                                                                                                                                    | Chandigarh                                                                                                                                           | 40.72                                                                                                                                                |
| 7                                                                                                                                                    | Chhattisgarh                                                                                                                                         | 7925.79                                                                                                                                              |
| 8                                                                                                                                                    | Dadar &Nagar Haveli &Daman and Diu                                                                                                                   | 64.50                                                                                                                                                |
| 9                                                                                                                                                    | Delhi                                                                                                                                                | 116.92                                                                                                                                               |
| 10                                                                                                                                                   | Goa                                                                                                                                                  | 324.13                                                                                                                                               |
| 11                                                                                                                                                   | Gujarat                                                                                                                                              | 9985.15                                                                                                                                              |
| 12                                                                                                                                                   | Haryana                                                                                                                                              | 3526.41                                                                                                                                              |
| 13                                                                                                                                                   | Himachal Pradesh                                                                                                                                     | 3554.74                                                                                                                                              |
| 14                                                                                                                                                   | Jammu and Kashmir                                                                                                                                    | 577.30                                                                                                                                               |
| 15                                                                                                                                                   | Jharkhand                                                                                                                                            | 8353.42                                                                                                                                              |
| 16                                                                                                                                                   | Karnataka                                                                                                                                            | 2991.62                                                                                                                                              |
| 17                                                                                                                                                   | Kerala                                                                                                                                               | 172.89                                                                                                                                               |
| 18                                                                                                                                                   | Madhya Pradesh                                                                                                                                       | 38552.61                                                                                                                                             |
| 19                                                                                                                                                   | Maharashtra                                                                                                                                          | 8498.35                                                                                                                                              |
| 20                                                                                                                                                   | Manipur                                                                                                                                              | 3111.40                                                                                                                                              |
| 21                                                                                                                                                   | Meghalaya                                                                                                                                            | 176.92                                                                                                                                               |
| 22                                                                                                                                                   | Mizoram                                                                                                                                              | 627.64                                                                                                                                               |
| 23                                                                                                                                                   | Odisha                                                                                                                                               | 24458.89                                                                                                                                             |
| 24                                                                                                                                                   | Punjab                                                                                                                                               | 3717.23                                                                                                                                              |
| 25                                                                                                                                                   | Rajasthan                                                                                                                                            | 8796.22                                                                                                                                              |
| 26                                                                                                                                                   | Sikkim                                                                                                                                               | 254.43                                                                                                                                               |
| 27                                                                                                                                                   | Tamil Nadu                                                                                                                                           | 703.79                                                                                                                                               |
| 28                                                                                                                                                   | Telangana                                                                                                                                            | 11422.47                                                                                                                                             |
| 29                                                                                                                                                   | Tripura                                                                                                                                              | 1298.57                                                                                                                                              |
| 30                                                                                                                                                   | Uttar Pradesh                                                                                                                                        | 7059.23                                                                                                                                              |
| 31                                                                                                                                                   | Uttarakhand                                                                                                                                          | 6471.89                                                                                                                                              |
| 32                                                                                                                                                   | West Bengal                                                                                                                                          | 1037.66                                                                                                                                              |
| Grand Total                                                                                                                                          | Grand Total                                                                                                                                          | 173396.87                                                                                                                                            |