Lok Sabha Question No. 3770 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-16
Subject: Reduction in Green Cover
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Shri Babu Singh Kushwaha, Shri Neeraj Maurya, Shri Devesh Shakya

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  3770

TO BE ANSWERED ON 16.03.2026

## Reduction in Green Cover

## 3770.   SHRI DEVESH SHAKYA: SHRI BABU SINGH KUSHWAHA: SHRI NEERAJ MAURYA:

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

- (a) whether contrary to the objectives of the National Forest Policy, there has been an alarming reduction in green cover in the districts of Bareilly, Budaun, Shahjahanpur,  Etah,  Kasganj  and  Jaunpur  due  to  industrial  expansion,  illegal felling and infrastructural projects and if so, the details of the reduction during the last five years and the current year, district-wise;
- (b) the  number  of  saplings  planted  under  the  Compensatory  Afforestation  Fund Management  and  Planning  Authority  (CAMPA)  in  lieu  of  trees  felled  for implementation of development projects during the said period in the said districts along with the present number of the surviving trees as per geo-tagging;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  conducted  any  scientific  study  on  the  impact  of unseasonal  rainfall  and  heatwaves  arising  from  climate  change  on  agricultural productivity in the said districts; and
- (d) whether  any  specific  technical  and  budgetary  allocation  has  been  ensured  for improving air quality by including the said districts in the list of non-attainment cities under the National Clean Air Programme?

## 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 of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, carries out the assessment of forest and tree cover of the country biennially and the findings are published in the India State of Forest Report (ISFR).  The forest  cover  assessment  is  a  wall  to  wall  mapping  exercised  based  on  remote  sensing supported  by  intensive  ground  verification  and  field  data  from  the  National  Forest Inventory. The details of forest cover of the aforesaid districts in the State of Uttar Pradesh are given at Annexure .
- (b) The  Compensatory  Afforestation  Fund  (CAF)  Act,  2016  and  it  Rules,  2018  aim  toward mitigating  the  loss  of  forest  cover  and  associated  ecosystem  services  resulting  from  the diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes. This is achieved through activities such as compensatory afforestation, restoration of degraded forests, enhancement of wildlife habitats, and biodiversity enrichment.

The  Compensatory  Afforestation  Fund  Management  and  Planning  Authority  (CAMPA) funds  are  used  for  undertaking  various  activities  for  the  betterment  of  forest  related  to improvement  and  enrichment  of  forests,  wildlife  and  ecological  services  which  include artificial regeneration, assisted natural regeneration, protection of forests, forest related

infrastructure development, Green India Programme, wildlife protection and other ancillary activities related to forest and wildlife management.

State/UT CAMPA Authorities submit  Annual  Plan of  Operations  (APOs)  every  year  for approval to  National  CAMPA.    The  details  of  area  covered  under  Compensatory Afforestation in the State of Uttar Pradesh are given below. District-wise figures are not maintained at the Ministry level and are maintained by the concerned State Authorities.

|   Sl. No. | State         | 2020-21                | 2020-21                      | 2021-22                | 2021-22                      | 2022-23                | 2022-23                      | 2023-24                | 2023-24                      | 2024-25                | 2024-25                      |
|-----------|---------------|------------------------|------------------------------|------------------------|------------------------------|------------------------|------------------------------|------------------------|------------------------------|------------------------|------------------------------|
|         1 | Uttar Pradesh | Target (in ha) 1144.78 | Achiev ement (in ha) 1136.58 | Target (in ha) 1103.64 | Achieve ment (in ha) 1091.43 | Target (in ha) 1631.90 | Achieve ment (in ha) 1604.68 | Target (in ha) 1414.99 | Achievem ent (in ha) 1288.60 | Target (in ha) 2934.39 | Achiev ement (in ha) 2839.78 |

The forest cover of Uttar Pradesh has increased by 118.43 square kilometer between ISFR 2021 and ISFR 2023.

- (c) The Ministry has not conducted any scientific study on the impact of unseasonal rainfall and heatwaves arising from climate change on agricultural productivity in the said districts.
- (d)  National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) was launched by the Ministry in January 2019 to improve air quality in 130 cities in 24 States/ UTs of the country through implementation of National, State and City level clean air action plans.

City Specific Clean Air Action Plans have been prepared by all 130 cities to implement air quality improvement measures in respective cities. These plans target air pollution sources like  soil  &  road  dust,  vehicular  emissions,  waste  burning,  Construction  &  Demolition activities, and industrial pollution.

Out of the Bareillly, Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Etah, Kasganj and Jaunpur Districts of State of Uttar Pradesh, Bareilly city has been identified as non-attainment city where PM10 levels have consecutively exceeded the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for a period of 5 years.

Bareilly  city  has  been  provided  ₹130.17  crore  under  the  National  Clean  Air  Programme (NCAP) as an air quality performance-linked incentive to implement the City Action Plan for  improving  air  quality.  Due  to  coordinated  efforts  under  NCAP,  the  city  has  shown significant  improvement  in  air  quality,  with  PM10  levels  reducing  from  207  µg/m³  in Financial Year 2017-18 to 48 µg/m³ in Financial Year 2024-25, reflecting an improvement of 76.8%.

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Annexure

Annexure referred to in reply of (a) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3770 due for answer  on  16.03.2026  regarding  'Reduction  in  Green  Cover'  asked  by  Shri  Devesh Shakya and others.

## Forest Cover of Bareilly, Budaun, Shahjahanpur, Etah, Kasganj and Jaunpur districts of Uttar Pradesh from ISFR 2019 & ISFR 2023

(Forest Cover in Square kilometer)

|   Sl. No. | Districts                |   Forest Cover as per ISFR 2019 |   Forest Cover as per ISFR 2023 |
|-----------|--------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
|         1 | Bareilly                 |                           45    |                           39.07 |
|         2 | Budaun                   |                           32.04 |                           27.9  |
|         3 | Shahjahanpur             |                           59.31 |                           60.39 |
|         4 | Etah                     |                           26.18 |                           20.82 |
|         5 | Kasganj/ Kanshiram Nagar |                           48.8  |                           41.97 |
|         6 | Jaunpur                  |                           67.02 |                           64    |