Lok Sabha Question No. 1167 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-11
Subject: Illegal Forest Logging
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Gajanan Chandrakant Kirtikar, Krupal Balaji Tumane

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1167

TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.12.2023

## Illegal Forest Logging

## 1167. SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR: SHRI KRUPAL BALAJI TUMANE

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

- (a) whether the illegal forest logging has adversely affected the environment;
- (b) if  so,  the  percentage of decline in the forest cover as on date during the last five years, State-wise;
- (c) whether the illegal forest logging has drastically reduced the forest density in the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the Government has taken any steps to prevent the illegal forest logging and if so, the details of the concrete action taken against the forest/ wood mafia; and
- (e) the  funds  allocated  for  this  purpose  during  the  last  five  years,  State/UT-wise including Maharashtra?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (c) Protection and management of forests is primarily the responsibility of the State and UT Governments Administrations. There are strong legal frameworks for protection and management of forests under various acts and rules such as Indian Forest Act, 1927, Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972,  Forest  (Conservation)  Act,  1980  and  the  State  Governments  /  UT  Administrations  take appropriate actions in accordance with the provisions made under these Acts/ Rules.

The Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun, has been carrying out the assessment of forest cover of the country biennially, and the findings are published in India State of Forest Report (ISFR). As per ISFR 2021, the total forest cover of the country is 7,13,789 square kilometre which is 21.71% of the geographical area of the country. The trend for the last three ISFRs shows an increase in Forest cover of the country. The forest cover has increased by 3,976 square kilometre between ISFR 2017 and ISFR 2019 assessment while there is an increase of 1,540 square kilometre between ISFR 2019 and ISFR 2021 assessment. The State wise details of change in Forest Cover between ISFR 2017, ISFR 2019 and ISFR 2021 are given in Annexure-I

(d) and (e) The State/UT Government take various actions for protection of forests from illegal forest logging including, strengthening surveillance and patrolling, establishing forest check posts and augmenting infrastructure and involving local communities in protection and conservation of forests.

The Ministry provides technical and financial assistance to States and UTs under various Schemes namely,  Development  of  Wildlife  Habitats,  Project  Tiger  and  Project  Elephant  which  have components for forest protection. The overall funds released under these schemes are mentioned at Annexure-II, III and IV .

*****

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) to (c) of the Lok Sabha UnStarred Question No. 1167 due for reply on 11.12.2023 by Shri Gajanan Kirtikar and Shri Krupal Balaji Tumane regarding 'Illegal Forest Logging'

State/UTs wise details of change in Forest Cover from ISFR 2017 to ISFR 2021

(Area in Square Kilometre)

|                              |                   | Forest Cover   | Forest Cover   | Forest Cover   | Change in Forest Cover between ISFR 2017 & Percentage (%) Change in Forest Cover between ISFR 2019 &ISFR   |       |
|------------------------------|-------------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------|
| States/UTs                   | Geographical area | ISFR 2017 (a)  | ISFR 2019 (b)  | ISFR 2021 (c)  | ISFR 2019 (b-a) 2021 (c-b)                                                                                 |       |
| Andhra Pradesh               | 1,62,968          | 28,147         | 29,137         | 29,784         | 1,637                                                                                                      | 5.82  |
| Arunachal Pradesh            | 83,743            | 66,964         | 66,688         | 66,431         | -533                                                                                                       | -0.80 |
| Assam                        | 78,438            | 28,105         | 28,327         | 28,312         | 207                                                                                                        | 0.74  |
| Bihar                        | 94,163            | 7,299          | 7,306          | 7,381          | 82                                                                                                         | 1.12  |
| Chhattisgarh                 | 1,35,192          | 55,547         | 55,611         | 55,717         | 170                                                                                                        | 0.31  |
| Delhi                        | 1,483             | 192.41         | 195.44         | 195            | 3                                                                                                          | 1.35  |
| Goa                          | 3,702             | 2,229          | 2,237          | 2,244          | 15                                                                                                         | 0.67  |
| Gujarat                      | 1,96,244          | 14,757         | 14,857         | 14,926         | 169                                                                                                        | 1.15  |
| Haryana                      | 44,212            | 1,588          | 1,602          | 1,603          | 15                                                                                                         | 0.94  |
| Himachal Pradesh             | 55,673            | 15,100         | 15,434         | 15,443         | 343                                                                                                        | 2.27  |
| Jharkhand                    | 79,716            | 23,553         | 23,611         | 23,721         | 168                                                                                                        | 0.71  |
| Karnataka                    | 1,91,791          | 37,550         | 38,575         | 38,730         | 1,180                                                                                                      | 3.14  |
| Kerala                       | 38,852            | 20,321         | 21,144         | 21,253         | 932                                                                                                        | 4.59  |
| Madhya Pradesh               | 3,08,252          | 77,414         | 77,482         | 77,493         | 79                                                                                                         | 0.10  |
| Maharashtra                  | 3,07,713          | 50,682         | 50,778         | 50,798         | 116                                                                                                        | 0.23  |
| Manipur                      | 22,327            | 17,346         | 16,847         | 16,598         | -748                                                                                                       | -4.31 |
| Meghalaya                    | 22,429            | 17,146         | 17,119         | 17,046         | -100                                                                                                       | -0.58 |
| Mizoram                      | 21,081            | 18,186         | 18,006         | 17,820         | -366                                                                                                       | -2.01 |
| Nagaland                     | 16,579            | 12,489         | 12,486         | 12,251         | -238                                                                                                       | -1.91 |
| Odisha                       | 1,55,707          | 51,345         | 51,619         | 52,156         | 811                                                                                                        | 1.58  |
| Punjab                       | 50,362            | 1,837          | 1,849          | 1,847          | 10                                                                                                         | 0.54  |
| Rajasthan                    | 3,42,239          | 16,572         | 16,630         | 16,655         | 83                                                                                                         | 0.50  |
| Sikkim                       | 7,096             | 3,344          | 3,342          | 3,341          | -3                                                                                                         | -0.09 |
| Tamil Nadu                   | 1,30,060          | 26,281         | 26,364         | 26,419         | 138                                                                                                        | 0.53  |
| Telangana                    | 1,12,077          | 20,419         | 20,582         | 21,214         | 795                                                                                                        | 3.89  |
| Tripura                      | 10,486            | 7,726          | 7,726          | 7,722          | -4                                                                                                         | -0.05 |
| Uttar Pradesh                | 2,40,928          | 14,679         | 14,806         | 14,818         | 139                                                                                                        | 0.95  |
| Uttarakhand                  | 53,483            | 24,295         | 24,303         | 24,305         | 10                                                                                                         | 0.04  |
| West Bengal                  | 88,752            | 16,847         | 16,902         | 16,832         | -15                                                                                                        | -0.09 |
| A&N Islands                  | 8,249             | 6,742          | 6,743          | 6,744          | 2                                                                                                          | 0.03  |
| Chandigarh                   | 114               | 21.56          | 22.03          | 22.88          | 1                                                                                                          | 6.12  |
| Dadra &Nagar                 | 491               | 207            | 207            |                | 0.26                                                                                                       | 0.11  |
| Haveli *                     | 111               |                |                | 227.75         |                                                                                                            |       |
| Daman &Diu * Jammu &Kashmir* |                   | 20.49          | 20.49 21,358   | 21,387         | 418                                                                                                        | 1.80  |
| Ladakh                       | 2,22,236          | 23,241         | 2,254          | 2,272          |                                                                                                            |       |
| Lakshadweep                  | 30                | 27.10          | 27.10          | 27.10          | 0.00                                                                                                       | 0.00  |
| Puducherry                   | 490               | 53.67          | 52.41          | 53.30          | -0.37                                                                                                      | -0.70 |
| Grand Total                  | 32,87,469         | 7,08,273       | 7,12,249       | 7,13,789       | 5,516                                                                                                      | 0.78  |

Annexure referred to in reply to part (e) of the Lok Sabha UnStarred Question No. 1167 due for reply on 11.12.2023 by Shri Gajanan Kirtikar and Shri Krupal Balaji Tumane regarding 'Illegal Forest Logging'

The details of fund released under 'Development of Wildlife Habitats' during last five years.

(Rs. in Crores)

| S.No.   | Name of States/UTs   |   2018.19 |   2019-20 |   2020-21 |   2021-22 |   2022-23 |
|---------|----------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| 1       | A& N Islands         |    1.91   |    1.3264 |   0       |    1.3577 |   0.25125 |
| 2       | Andhra Pradesh       |    0.75   |    0      |   0       |    0      |   0       |
| 3       | Arunachal Pradesh    |    3.4442 |    5.1269 |   3.1258  |    4.198  |   2.7644  |
| 4       | Assam                |    2.6532 |    1.6426 |   0       |    0      |   2.0914  |
| 5       | Bihar                |    7.49   |    1.4814 |   2.0516  |    4.1085 |   0       |
| 6       | Chandigarh           |    0      |    0      |   0.2516  |    0      |   0.2162  |
| 7       | Chhattisgarh         |    3.5061 |    3.1003 |   1.0435  |    2.7459 |   1.0445  |
| 8       | Goa                  |    0      |    1.1165 |   0       |    0      |   0       |
| 9       | Gujarat              |   22.32   |    0      |   1.2458  |    0      |   2.0001  |
| 10      | Haryana              |    1.55   |    2.376  |   0.1822  |    1.2733 |   0.3015  |
| 11      | Himachal Pradesh     |    3.703  |    3.7576 |   1.8763  |    1.9709 |   1.1432  |
| 12      | Jammu &Kashmir       |    4.9243 |    0      |   0.8062  |    0      |   0       |
| 13      | Jharkhand            |    0.5051 |    0.9396 |   1.9822  |    0.7953 |   0       |
| 14      | Karnataka            |    6.53   |    7.3904 |   5.8612  |   12.5659 |   2.9171  |
| 15      | Kerala               |   12.934  |    8.4502 |   7.3128  |    2.9577 |   2.2447  |
| 16      | Madhya Pradesh       |    9.122  |    6.2926 |   8.01601 |    3.8934 |   2.6555  |
| 17      | Maharashtra          |   10.312  |    7.1578 |   1.4608  |    0      |   3.5038  |
| 18      | Manipur              |    4.056  |    3.9645 |   2.4112  |    1.425  |   1.8064  |
| 19      | Meghalaya            |    3.12   |    2.3883 |   2.635   |    5.3051 |   0       |
| 20      | Mizoram              |    4.3    |    4.3179 |   3.396   |    1.9896 |   1.9019  |
| 21      | Nagaland             |    8.822  |    9.5369 |   2.6     |    3.4203 |   7.2565  |
| 22      | Odisha               |    4.99   |    7.015  |   6.975   |    7.268  |   9.6749  |
| 23      | Rajasthan            |    5.85   |    7.4131 |   3.0912  |   10.0764 |   0.8678  |
| 24      | Sikkim               |    3.94   |    5.5735 |   3.4962  |    1.8297 |   2.3966  |
| 25      | Tamil Nadu           |    3.841  |    4.095  |   3.3403  |    3.9075 |   1.3295  |
| 26      | Telangana            |    0      |    0      |   0.3659  |    0      |   0       |
| 27      | Uttar Pradesh        |    1.1981 |    4.2625 |   3.1292  |    1.6906 |   2.6674  |
| 28      | Uttarakhand          |   17.641  |   14.0119 |   4.4161  |    2.2634 |   2.1296  |
| 29      | West Bengal          |    9.606  |    8.9107 |   7.1061  |    7.5725 |   2.013   |
| 30      | Puducherry           |    0      |    0      |   0       |    0      |   0       |
| 31      | Lakshadweep          |    0.463  |    1.9327 |   4.624   |    4.6208 |   2.699   |
| 32      | Delhi                |    5.519  |    0      |   0       |    0      |   0       |
| 33      | Tripura              |    0      |    0.9031 |   2.6067  |    0      |   0       |
| 34      | Ladakh UT            |    0      |    0      |   2.2317  |    0.3195 |   0.6111  |
|         | Grand Total          |  165      |  124.484  |  87.6418  |   87.5559 |  56.4884  |

Annexure referred to in reply to part (e) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1167 due for reply on 11.12.2023 by Shri Gajanan Kirtikar and Shri Krupal Balaji Tumane regarding 'Illegal Forest Logging'

The details of fund released under 'Project Tiger' during last five years.

(Rs. in Crores)

| Sl. No.   | State             |   2018-19 |   2019-20 |   2020-21 |   2021-22 |   2022-23 |
|-----------|-------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh    |   2.17992 |    1.1448 |    2.6651 |    2.9211 |    0      |
| 2         | Arunachal Pradesh |   9.29762 |    8.4631 |    8.0376 |    8.6908 |    7.8719 |
| 3         | Assam             |  19.1962  |   21.9876 |   25.139  |   14.7675 |   25.5978 |
| 4         | Bihar             |   5.70897 |    5.6284 |    6.2889 |    5.5272 |    2.469  |
| 5         | Chhattisgarh      |   5.36135 |    3.5853 |    4.7116 |    3.5585 |    1.6575 |
| 6         | Jharkhand         |   3.67    |   14.3207 |    1.2845 |    1.9506 |    2.2775 |
| 7         | Karnataka         |  22.6742  |   22.5203 |   21.1801 |   29.567  |   17.1692 |
| 8         | Kerala            |   6.5303  |    6.0707 |    4.0288 |    8.6878 |    4.1759 |
| 9         | Madhya Pradesh    |  53.4389  |   35.0191 |   25.5126 |   35.2352 |   39.5688 |
| 10        | Maharashtra       | 110.496   |   72.2039 |   30.9803 |   29.9106 |    8.0962 |
| 11        | Mizoram           |   3.18842 |    3.377  |    1.6153 |    3.7413 |    0.7875 |
| 12        | Odisha            |  10.2232  |   13.0332 |    6.8007 |   10.5686 |    9.4682 |
| 13        | Rajasthan         |   7.9183  |   12.0319 |   10.0889 |    8.4105 |    5.2978 |
| 14        | Tamil Nadu        |  23.6682  |   15.8691 |   13.3614 |   15.7622 |    5.0135 |
| 15        | Telangana         |  11.1565  |    3.5991 |    3.5197 |    5.4326 |    0      |
| 16        | Uttarakhand       |   6.8533  |   22.8918 |   16.713  |   14.6371 |    7.4113 |
| 17        | Uttar Pradesh     |  14.1726  |   12.4249 |    9.2329 |   13.0485 |    9.1996 |
| 18        | West Bengal       |   7.1901  |    7.5847 |    3.3396 |    7.0828 |    4.5877 |
|           | Total             | 322.924   |  281.756  |  194.5    |  219.5    |  150.649  |

Annexure referred to in reply to part (e) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1167 due for reply on 11.12.2023 by Shri Gajanan Kirtikar and Shri Krupal Balaji Tumane regarding 'Illegal Forest Logging'

The details of fund released under 'Project Elephant' during last five years. ( Rs. in Crores)

|   Sl. No | State/UTs         |   2018-19 |   2019-20 |   2020-21 |   2021-22 |   2022-23 |
|----------|-------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
|        1 | Andhra Pradesh    |   0.29016 |   1.2703  |    0.7728 |   0.2055  |   0       |
|        2 | Arunachal Pradesh |   0       |   1.0326  |    2.8225 |   1.5776  |   0.2688  |
|        3 | Assam             |   3.54351 |   0       |    0.3528 |   1.2671  |   1.674   |
|        4 | Chhattisgarh      |   0.6528  |   0       |    0      |   0.2478  |   0       |
|        5 | Jharkhand         |   1.1646  |   1.6144  |    1.1186 |   0.8668  |   0.7805  |
|        6 | Karnataka         |   3.5391  |   4.1248  |    3.304  |   2.6119  |   0.9784  |
|        7 | Kerala            |   4.6669  |   4.3213  |    5.7456 |   5.8096  |   2.4105  |
|        8 | Maharashtra       |   0.4653  |   0.4419  |    0.1798 |   0       |   0.2852  |
|        9 | Meghalaya         |   2.1787  |   1.7789  |    0.0936 |   1.4175  |   0.3214  |
|       10 | Nagaland          |   1.4121  |   2.1394  |    0.925  |   2.7975  |   2.3557  |
|       11 | Odisha            |   1.9728  |   3.8703  |    5.7799 |   5.6704  |   2.1276  |
|       12 | Tamil Nadu        |   3.831   |   2.7515  |    0      |   1.8184  |   0.8594  |
|       13 | Tripura           |   0.4392  |   0.4538  |    0.2471 |   0       |   0.7365  |
|       14 | Uttar Pradesh     |   0.2024  |   0.3774  |    0      |   0.45993 |   0.0985  |
|       15 | Uttarakhand       |   1.9216  |   4.1731  |    2.0485 |   2.44123 |   0.18741 |
|       16 | West Bengal       |   0.8394  |   1.1325  |    0.6419 |   0.87871 |   0.30053 |
|       17 | Haryana           |   0.0838  |   0.168   |    0.1104 |   0.04234 |   0.174   |
|       18 | Bihar             |   1.65323 |   0.57027 |    0.3908 |   0       |   0       |
|       19 | Rajasthan         |   0.12659 |   0.3528  |    0      |   0.1518  |   0.06186 |
|       20 | Punjab            |   0       |   0       |    0      |   0       |   0       |
|       21 | Madhya Pradesh    |   0.04757 |   0.13695 |    0      |   0.12613 |   0.1138  |
|       22 | Manipur           |   0.09072 |   0.10944 |    0      |   0.054   |   0       |

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