Lok Sabha Question No. 132 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-07-22
Subject: Forest Cover in the Country
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Shri Anto Antony, Shri Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, Dr. Amar Singh

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 132

TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.07.2024

## Forest Cover in the Country

132. SHRI ANTO ANTONY:

SHRI SAPTAGIRI SANKAR ULAKA:

DR. AMAR SINGH:

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

- (a) the details of the forest cover in the country, since 2019, year-wise and State-wise;
- (b) whether the loss of tree cover increase the emission of carbon dioxide, if so, details of carbon dioxide emission caused due to tree cover loss in the country, since 2019;
- (c) the justifications for the contradictions between India State of Forest Report 2021 and Global Forest Watch data; and
- (d) whether the Government plans to amend the Forest Conservation Act (1980) again, due to the severe criticism for the recent amendment for removing protections from deemed and community forests?

## ANSWER

MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

- (a) Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun, an organization under the Ministry carries out the assessment of forest cover biennially. As per the latest India State of Forest Report (ISFR) published in 2021, the total forest cover of the country is 7,13,789 square kilometer which is 21.71% of the geographical area of the country. The State/UTs wise details of forest cover as per ISFR, since 2019 are given in Annexure .
- (b) The tree cover increased by 721 square kilometer during 2019 to 2021. There is no loss of tree cover during 2019 and 2021. Therefore, the question of increase in emission of carbon dioxide due to loss of tree cover does not arise.
- (c)  The contradictions between India State of Forest Report 2021 and Global Forest Watch data may be because of the differences in the definition of forest cover and tree cover adopted in these two reports.
- (d) At present there in no plan to amend the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhniyam, 1980.

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## Annexure

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 132 due for answer on 22.07.2024 regarding 'Forest Cover in the country'

## States/UTs wise details of change in Forest Cover from ISFR 2019 to ISFR 2021 (Area in square kilometre)

| Sl. No.   | States/UTs                         | ISFR 2019   | ISFR 2021   |
|-----------|------------------------------------|-------------|-------------|
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh                     | 29,137      | 29,784      |
| 2         | Arunachal Pradesh                  | 66,688      | 66,431      |
| 3         | Assam                              | 28,327      | 28,312      |
| 4         | Bihar                              | 7,306       | 7,381       |
| 5         | Chhattisgarh                       | 55,611      | 55,717      |
| 6         | Delhi                              | 195         | 195         |
| 7         | Goa                                | 2,237       | 2,244       |
| 8         | Gujarat                            | 14,857      | 14,926      |
| 9         | Haryana                            | 1,602       | 1,603       |
| 10        | Himachal Pradesh                   | 15,434      | 15,443      |
| 11        | Jammu& Kashmir                     | 23,612*     | 21,387      |
| 12        | Jharkhand                          | 23,611      | 23,721      |
| 13        | Karnataka                          | 38,575      | 38,730      |
| 14        | Kerala                             | 21,144      | 21,253      |
| 15        | Madhya Pradesh                     | 77,482      | 77,493      |
| 16        | Maharashtra                        | 50,778      | 50,798      |
| 17        | Manipur                            | 16,847      | 16,598      |
| 18        | Meghalaya                          | 17,119      | 17,046      |
| 19        | Mizoram                            | 18,006      | 17,820      |
| 20        | Nagaland                           | 12,486      | 12,251      |
| 21        | Odisha                             | 51,619      | 52,156      |
| 22        | Punjab                             | 1,849       | 1,847       |
| 23        | Rajasthan                          | 16,630      | 16,655      |
| 24        | Sikkim                             | 3,342       | 3,341       |
| 25        | Tamil Nadu                         | 26,364      | 26,419      |
| 26        | Telangana                          | 20,582      | 21,214      |
| 27        | Tripura                            | 7,726       | 7,722       |
| 28        | Uttar Pradesh                      | 14,806      | 14,818      |
| 29        | Uttarakhand                        | 24,303      | 24,305      |
| 30        | West Bengal                        | 16,902      | 16,832      |
| 31        | A&N Islands                        | 6,743       | 6,744       |
| 32        | Chandigarh                         | 22          | 23          |
| 33        | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu | 227         | 228         |
| 34        | Ladakh                             | *           | 2,272       |
| 35        | Lakshadweep                        | 27          | 27          |
| 36        | Puducherry                         | 52          | 53          |
|           | Grand Total                        | 7,12,249    | 7,13,789    |