Lok Sabha Question No. 44 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-11-25
Subject: Tree Plantation
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Shri Amra Ram, Shri Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 44

TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.11.2024

## Tree Plantation

## 44, SHRI AMRA RAM:

SHRI SUKHJINDER SINGH RANDHAWA:

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

- (a) whether the forest area is declining continuously;
- (b) if so, the steps being taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to increase the tree plantation and forest area;
- (c) the details of species of plants planted/proposed to be planted by the Government to augment the levels of Oxygen in air;
- (d) the total number of trees planted in Sikar Parliamentary Constituency by the Forest Department during the last two years along with the present number of surviving trees as on date; and
- (e) the details of the expenditure made in this regard?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b)

Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun, an organization under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, carries out the assessment of forest cover of the country biennially since 1987 and the findings are published in the India State of Forest Report (ISFR). As per the ISFR published by FSI, there is continuous increase of forest cover in last decade. During the last decade, an increase  of  21,762  square  kilometer  in  forest  cover  has  been  reported  in  the assessment of ISFR 2021 as compared to ISFR 2011.

The  Central  Government  provides  financial  support  to  the  States  and  Union Territories  (UTs)  under  various  schemes  and  programmes  such  as  National Mission for a Green India (GIM), Development of Wildlife Habitats, Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management  and Planning Authority (CAMPA), Nagar Van Yojana, Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes (MISHTI), etc. for ecological restoration through afforestation in and outside forest areas, habitat improvement, soil and water conservation measures, protection of forests etc.

- (c) The species for afforestation in forest area are decided by the concerned State Forest  Departments  by  considering  the  local  conditions  and  preferably selecting native species to augment the forest conservation efforts and enhance the ecosystem services.
- (d)& (e) As per information received from the State Forest Department, Government of Rajasthan, the total number of trees planted and expenditure incurred towards plantation in Sikar Parliamentary Constituency during the last two years as well as the number of surviving trees surviving are as under:-

| Year    | Total number of trees planted   | Total number of Surviving trees   |   Expenditure incurred (Rupees in Lakhs) |
|---------|---------------------------------|-----------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
| 2022-23 | 9,39,000                        | 7,37,621                          |                                  626.895 |
| 2023-24 | 8,75,000                        | 7,54,838                          |                                  600.384 |

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