Lok Sabha Question No. 345 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-02
Subject: Initiatives to Increase Forest Cover in Rajasthan
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Shri Rahul Kaswan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 345 TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.02.2026

## Initiatives to Increase Forest Cover in Rajasthan

## 345.     SHRI RAHUL KASWAN:

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

- (a) whether the Government has taken cognizance of the high level of air pollution and worsening figures of Air Quality Index in various cities of the country, including nonmetropolitan and semi-arid areas, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  the  forest  and  tree  cover  in  Rajasthan  is  around  4.84  per  cent  of  the  total geographical area and in districts like Churu it is around 0.45 to 0.60 per cent according to the Indian State of Forest Report (ISFR), if so, the initiatives taken to increase the green cover in areas with low forest cover during the last five years; and
- (c) whether any assessment has been made on the combined impact of low forest cover and extreme  temperatures  including  severe  winter  and  scorching  summer  conditions  in districts  like  Churu,  if  so,  the  measures  taken  in  existing  Schemes  to  strengthen environmental and climate stability in such areas?

## ANSWER

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

(a): Government identified 122 non-attainment cities, including non-metropolitan and semiarid areas, in 2019, where the air pollution levels have consecutively exceeded the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for five years for PM10 levels during 2014-18. List of 122 non-attainment cities are enclosed at Annexure I .

To  implement  National  level  action  plan  to  mitigate  air  pollution  across  the  country, Government launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in 2019 as a nationwide strategy aimed  at reducing air pollution in  130 cities, including the  122 identified non-attainment cities, spread across 24 States and Union Territories. In Rajasthan, five cities namely Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Udaipur, and Alwar were covered under the NCAP framework.

(b) to (c): As per India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2023, forest and tree cover of State of Rajasthan is 8% of its geographical area. District of Churu has forest cover of 0.45% of its total geographical area. Regular efforts are being made to increase the green cover in Rajasthan by taking up plantation in forest land & enhance the Bio-diversity of the area. District-wise details of plantation carried out by the Forest Department Rajasthan from the FY 2021-22 to FY 202526 is presented at Annexure-II .

Hariyalo Rajasthan, a special plantation drive was launched on 7 th   August 2024 on the occasion of Hariyali Teej, for a period of five years, with a target of planting 50 crore saplings across the State. So far, 18.95 crore saplings have been planted during the last two years. In Churu district, plantation activities covering 2,034.60 hectares have been undertaken during the last five years. Under the Hariyalo Rajasthan initiative, 54.33 lakh saplings have been planted in the district during the last two years.

Further, under the 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' initiative, a nationwide tree plantation campaign launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), a total of 22.17 crore seedlings were planted in Rajasthan during the period from 4 th  June 2024 to 25 th January 2026.

Additionally, under the Nagar Van Yojana, a flagship urban forestry initiative of the Ministry, an  amount  of  ₹35.72  crore  has  been  released  for  the  development  of  Nagar  Vans/Nagar Vatikas, covering an area of 1,179.90 hectares across Rajasthan, out of which ₹5.00 crore has been released to Churu District for the plantation activities covering 140 hectares.

Rajasthan  has  prepared  State  Action  Plan  for  Climate  Change  (SAPCCs).  Rajasthan  State Action Plan on Climate Change (RSAPCC, 2022) addresses the climate vulnerabilities, risks and impacts that are specific to the State of Rajasthan as well as the opportunities, adaptation and mitigation measures that can be adopted at the State and disaggregated levels. It outlines the  State's  strategies  for  a  range  of  sectors  including  water,  agriculture,  health,  forest  and biodiversity, socioeconomic growth, and urban governance.

## List of 122 Non-Attainment Cities

| States           |   Sl. No. | Cities           |
|------------------|-----------|------------------|
| Andhra Pradesh   |         1 | Ananthpur        |
| Andhra Pradesh   |         2 | Chittur          |
| Andhra Pradesh   |         3 | Eluru            |
| Andhra Pradesh   |         4 | Guntur           |
| Andhra Pradesh   |         5 | Kadapa           |
| Andhra Pradesh   |         6 | Kurnool          |
| Andhra Pradesh   |         7 | Nellore          |
| Andhra Pradesh   |         8 | Ongole           |
| Andhra Pradesh   |         9 | Rajamuhndary     |
| Andhra Pradesh   |        10 | Srikakulam       |
| Andhra Pradesh   |        11 | Vijayawada       |
| Andhra Pradesh   |        12 | Visakhapatnam    |
| Andhra Pradesh   |        13 | Vizhianagaram    |
| Assam            |        14 | Guwahati         |
|                  |        15 | Nagaon           |
|                  |        16 | Nalbari          |
|                  |        17 | Silchar          |
|                  |        18 | Sivasagar        |
| Bihar            |        19 | Patna            |
| Bihar            |        20 | Gaya             |
| Bihar            |        21 | Muzaffarpur      |
| Chandigarh       |        22 | Chandigarh       |
|                  |        23 | Korba            |
| Chattisgarh      |        24 | Durg Bhilainagar |
| Chattisgarh      |        25 | Raipur           |
| Delhi            |        26 | Delhi            |
|                  |        27 | Ahmedabad        |
| Gujarat          |        28 | Surat            |
| Gujarat          |        29 | Vadodara         |
|                  |        30 | Baddi            |
| Himachal Pradesh |        31 | Damtal           |
| Himachal Pradesh |        32 | Kala Amb         |
| Himachal Pradesh |        33 | Nalagarh         |
| Himachal Pradesh |        34 | Paonta Sahib     |
| Himachal Pradesh |        35 | Parwanoo         |
| Himachal Pradesh |        36 | Sunder Nagar     |
| Jammu            |        37 | Jammu            |
|                  |        38 | Srinagar         |
| Jharkhand        |        39 | Dhanbad          |
| Karnataka        |        40 | Bengaluru        |

## Annexure I

| States         | Sl. No.   | Cities               |
|----------------|-----------|----------------------|
|                | 41        | Devanagere           |
|                | 42        | Gulburga / Kalaburgi |
|                | 43        | Hubli-Dharwad        |
| Madhya Pradesh | 44        | Bhopal               |
| Madhya Pradesh | 45        | Dewas                |
| Madhya Pradesh | 46        | Gwalior              |
| Madhya Pradesh | 47        | Indore               |
| Madhya Pradesh | 48        | Sagar                |
|                | 49        | Ujjain               |
|                | 50        | Aurangabad           |
|                | 51        | Akola                |
|                | 52        | Amravati             |
|                | 53        | Badlapur             |
|                | 54        | Chandrapur           |
|                | 55        | Greater Mumbai       |
|                | 56        | Jalgaon              |
|                | 57        | Jalna                |
|                | 58        | Kolhapur             |
| Maharashtra    | 59        | Latur                |
|                | 60        | Nagpur               |
|                | 61        | Nashik               |
|                | 62        | Navi Mumbai          |
|                | 63        | Pune                 |
|                | 64        | Sangli               |
|                | 65        | Solapur              |
|                | 66        | Thane                |
|                | 67        | Ulhasnagar           |
| Meghalaya      | 68        | Byrnihat             |
| Nagaland       | 69        | Dimapur              |
| Odisha         | 70        | Kohima               |
|                | 71        | Angul                |
|                | 72        | Balasore             |
|                | 73        | Bhubneshwar          |
|                | 74        | Cuttack              |
|                | 75        | Kalinga Nagar        |
|                | 76        | Rourkela             |
| Punjab         | 77 78     | Talcher              |
|                |           | Amritsar             |
|                | 79        | Dera Baba Nanak      |
|                | 80        | Dera Bassi           |
|                | 81        | Jalandhar            |
|                | 82        | Khanna               |
|                | 83        | Ludhiana             |

|   Sl. No. | Cities           |
|-----------|------------------|
|        84 | Mandi Gobindgarh |
|        85 | Naya Nangal      |
|        86 | Patiala          |
|        87 | Jaipur           |
|        88 | Alwar            |
|        89 | Jodhpur          |
|        90 | Kota             |
|        91 | Udaipur          |
|        92 | Madurai          |
|        93 | Trichy           |
|        94 | Tuticorin        |
|        95 | Hyderabad        |
|        96 | Nalgonda         |
|        97 | Sangareddy       |
|        98 | Agra             |
|        99 | Allahabad        |
|       100 | Ghaziabad        |
|       101 | Kanpur           |
|       102 | Lucknow          |
|       103 | Varanasi         |
|       104 | Anpara           |
|       105 | Bareily          |
|       106 | Firozabad        |
|       107 | Gajraula         |
|       108 | Gorakhpur        |
|       109 | Jhansi           |
|       110 | Khurja           |
|       111 | Moradabad        |
|       112 | Noida            |
|       113 | Raebareli        |
|       114 | Dehradun         |
|       115 | Kashipur         |
|       116 | Rishikesh        |
|       117 | Asansol          |
|       118 | Barrackpore      |
|       119 | Durgapur         |
|       120 | Haldia           |
|       121 |                  |
|       122 | Howrah Kolkata   |

Annexure-II District-wise details of plantation carried out by the Forest Department Rajasthan from

## the FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26.

|   S.No. | District      |   Plantations during FY 2021-22 in hectares |   Plantations during FY 2022 -23 in hectares |   Plantations during FY 2023-24 in hectares |   Plantations during FY 2024-25 in hectares |   Plantations during FY 2025-upto 28-01-2026 in hectares |
|---------|---------------|---------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|
|       1 | Ajmer         |                                      501.07 |                                      1500    |                                     1910.11 |                                     2790    |                                                  2588.5  |
|       2 | Alwar         |                                     1307.33 |                                      2450    |                                     4300    |                                     4200    |                                                  2050    |
|       3 | Banswara      |                                     1147.08 |                                      1667    |                                     1500    |                                     1550    |                                                  1685    |
|       4 | Baran         |                                      950    |                                      1950    |                                     2175.89 |                                     2997.22 |                                                  4000    |
|       5 | Barmer        |                                      363.2  |                                       626.51 |                                     2033.37 |                                     1200    |                                                  2123    |
|       6 | Bharatpur     |                                      500    |                                       925    |                                     1500    |                                      950    |                                                   800    |
|       7 | Bhilwara      |                                      796.86 |                                      1750    |                                     1672.87 |                                     2852.05 |                                                  1475    |
|       8 | Bikaner       |                                      420.14 |                                      1794.58 |                                     3486.11 |                                     3949.65 |                                                  2988.45 |
|       9 | Bundi         |                                      600    |                                      1479.85 |                                     3561.67 |                                     2574.41 |                                                  3103    |
|      10 | Chittorgarh   |                                     2233.48 |                                      2725    |                                     4352.4  |                                     2352    |                                                  3084.14 |
|      11 | Churu         |                                      200    |                                       374    |                                      770    |                                      400    |                                                   290.6  |
|      12 | Dausa         |                                     1096.49 |                                      1375    |                                     1822.9  |                                      825    |                                                   750    |
|      13 | Dholpur       |                                      790    |                                      1190    |                                     1500    |                                     2328.88 |                                                  2650    |
|      14 | Dungarpur     |                                      863.87 |                                      1260    |                                     1743.68 |                                     1250    |                                                  2000    |
|      15 | Sriganganagar |                                      333.69 |                                      1190.72 |                                     2692.55 |                                     3225    |                                                   378.88 |
|      16 | Hanumangarh   |                                     1023.35 |                                      1578.35 |                                     3145    |                                     1150    |                                                  1475    |
|      17 | Jaipur        |                                     1850    |                                      2800    |                                     2459.02 |                                     3980    |                                                  2424.45 |
|      18 | Jaisalmer     |                                     1420    |                                      2896    |                                     4821.21 |                                     7061.67 |                                                  6377.43 |
|      19 | Jalore        |                                      650    |                                      1050    |                                     1300    |                                      900    |                                                   231.36 |
|      20 | Jhalawar      |                                      754.48 |                                      1325    |                                     3078.11 |                                     2350    |                                                  3175    |
|      21 | Jhunjhunu     |                                     1165.52 |                                      2259.17 |                                     2359.5  |                                     2550    |                                                   300    |
|      22 | Jodhpur       |                                      485    |                                       409.75 |                                      600    |                                     1225    |                                                  1502.53 |
|      23 | Karauli       |                                      750    |                                       600    |                                     3019.33 |                                     1700    |                                                  1961.51 |
|      24 | Kota          |                                     1100    |                                      1856    |                                     3250    |                                     3168.5  |                                                  4832.3  |
|      25 | Nagaur        |                                      775    |                                      2175    |                                     3020    |                                     2870    |                                                  1330    |
|      26 | Pali          |                                      650    |                                       349.72 |                                      900    |                                      400    |                                                  1013.44 |
|      27 | Pratapgarh    |                                     1600    |                                      2950    |                                     3358.17 |                                     1677.72 |                                                  2404.02 |
|      28 | Rajsamand     |                                     1100    |                                       828.95 |                                     2950    |                                     2100    |                                                  1831.71 |
|      29 | S. Madhopur   |                                     1317    |                                      1450    |                                     4525.97 |                                     3950    |                                                  1450    |
|      30 | Sikar         |                                     1251.88 |                                      2420    |                                     2550    |                                     2950    |                                                   428.4  |
|      31 | Sirohi        |                                      326.34 |                                       825    |                                     1238.51 |                                     1200    |                                                  1192.83 |
|      32 | Tonk          |                                      720    |                                      1915    |                                     2147.87 |                                     1600    |                                                  1782    |

| S.No.                | District             |   Plantations during FY 2021-22 in hectares |   Plantations during FY 2022 -23 in hectares |   Plantations during FY 2023-24 in hectares |   Plantations during FY 2024-25 in hectares |   Plantations during FY 2025-upto 28-01-2026 in hectares |
|----------------------|----------------------|---------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|
| 33                   | Udaipur              |                                     3400.79 |                                       6665   |                                     6976.18 |                                      5255   |                                                  5719.39 |
| Total Plantation (in | Total Plantation (in |                                    32442.6  |                                      56610.6 |                                    86720.4  |                                     79532.1 |                                                 69397.9  |