Lok Sabha Question No. 3837 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-08-09
Subject: Forest Cover
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: HUKUM SINGH

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  3837 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.08.2016

## Forest Cover

## 3837.    SHRI HUKUM SINGH:

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

- (a) whether it is a fact that the forest cover in India is only 12 percent against the requirement of 33 percent of the total land mass and if so, the details thereof and reasons therefor;
- (b) whether it is a fact that from April 2014 to March 2016, the Government has diverted 34,620 hectares of forest land for industrial purpose and final clearances are expected for another 40,000 plus hectares and if so, the details thereof and reasons therefor; and
- (c) whether the Government is aware that the economy cannot be expanded at the cost of ecology and if so, the reaction of the Government thereto?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## (SHRI ANIL MADHAV DAVE)

- (a) Forest Survey of India, Dehradun is carrying out the assessment of forest cover of the country  biennially  and  the  findings  are  published  in  India  State  of  Forest  Report.  The latest report in the series is India State of Forest Report 2015. As per this report, the total forest cover of the country is 7, 01,673 square kilometers which is 21.34% of the total geographical area of the country. The detailed list showing forest cover and change in forest cover States/UTs wise is given in Annexure I.
- (b) The Ministry Environment, Forest and Climate change has accorded final approval for diversion  of  29189  hectares  forest  land  during  the  period  from  1 st April,  2014  to  31 st March,  2016.  The  details  are  given  in Annexure-II. The final  clearance  for  54476 hectares forest land is under various stages of clearance which is expected to be cleared subject  to  satisfactory  compliance  of  conditions  stipulated  in  Stage-I.  The  details  are given in Annexure III.
- (c) The focus of various programmes is development without destruction. There are number of  legal  instrument  to  protect  &  manage  the  natural  resources.  These  include  Indian Forest  Act,  1927,  Wildlife  Protection  Act,  1972,  Forest  (Conservation)  Act,  1980, Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, National Forest Policy-1988, Biological Diversity Act-2002.   There are also a number of schemes and programmes under which financial assistance is provided to State Governments for afforestation and protection of existing forests.

.    **********

## Annexure I

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3837 due for answer on 09.08.2016 regarding 'Forest Cover'

Change in Forest Cover in States/UTs as per India State of Forest Report (ISFR)- 2015

(Area in square Kilometers)

| States/UTs          | Geographical Area   | Total Forest Cover 2015   | Total Forest Cover 2013   |   Change in Forest Cover | Change Percent   |
|---------------------|---------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|--------------------------|------------------|
| Andhra Pradesh      | 1,60,204            | 24,424                    | 24,357                    |                    67    | 0.27             |
| Arunachal Pradesh   | 83,743              | 67,248                    | 67321                     |                   -73    | -0.11            |
| Assam               | 78,438              | 27,623                    | 27671                     |                   -48    | -0.17            |
| Bihar               | 94,163              | 7,288                     | 7291                      |                    -3    | -0.04            |
| Chhattisgarh        | 1,35,191            | 55,586                    | 55621                     |                   -35    | -0.06            |
| Delhi               | 1,483               | 189                       | 180                       |                     9    | 4.75             |
| Goa                 | 3,702               | 2,224                     | 2219                      |                     5    | 0.22             |
| Gujarat             | 1,96,022            | 14,660                    | 14653                     |                     7    | 0.05             |
| Haryana             | 44,212              | 1,584                     | 1586                      |                    -2    | -0.13            |
| Himachal Pradesh    | 55,673              | 14,696                    | 14683                     |                    13    | 0.09             |
| Jammu& Kashmir      | 2,22,236            | 22,988                    | 22538                     |                   450    | 1.96             |
| Jharkhand           | 79,714              | 23,478                    | 23473                     |                     5    | 0.02             |
| Karnataka           | 1,91,791            | 36,421                    | 36132                     |                   289    | 0.79             |
| Kerala              | 38,863              | 19,239                    | 17922                     |                  1317    | 6.85             |
| Madhya Pradesh      | 3,08,245            | 77,462                    | 77522                     |                   -60    | -0.08            |
| Maharashtra         | 3,07,713            | 50,628                    | 50632                     |                    -4    | -0.01            |
| Manipur             | 22,327              | 16,994                    | 16990                     |                     4    | 0.02             |
| Meghalaya           | 22,429              | 17,217                    | 17288                     |                   -71    | -0.41            |
| Mizoram             | 21,081              | 18,748                    | 19054                     |                  -306    | -1.63            |
| Nagaland            | 16,579              | 12,966                    | 13044                     |                   -78    | -0.60            |
| Odisha              | 1,55,707            | 50,354                    | 50347                     |                     7    | 0.01             |
| Punjab              | 50,362              | 1,771                     | 1772                      |                    -1    | -0.06            |
| Rajasthan           | 3,42,239            | 16,171                    | 16086                     |                    85    | 0.53             |
| Sikkim              | 7,096               | 3,357                     | 3358                      |                    -1    | -0.03            |
| Tamil Nadu          | 1,30,058            | 26,345                    | 23844                     |                  2501    | 9.49             |
| Telangana           | 114,865             | 21,591                    | 21759                     |                  -168    | -0.78            |
| Tripura             | 10,486              | 7,811                     | 7866                      |                   -55    | -0.70            |
| Uttar Pradesh       | 2,40,928            | 14,461                    | 14349                     |                   112    | 0.77             |
| Uttarakhand         | 53,483              | 24,240                    | 24508                     |                  -268    | -1.11            |
| West Bengal         | 88,752              | 16,828                    | 16805                     |                    23    | 0.14             |
| A&N Islands         | 8,249               | 6,751                     | 6711                      |                    40    | 0.59             |
| Chandigarh          | 114                 | 22,.03                    | 17.26                     |                     4.77 | 21.65            |
| Dadra &Nagar Haveli | 491                 | 206                       | 213                       |                    -7    | -3.40            |
| Daman &Diu          | 112                 | 19.61                     | 9                         |                    10.61 | 52.73            |
| Lakshadweep         | 32                  | 27.06                     | 27.06                     |                     0    | 0.00             |
| Puducherry Grand    | 480                 | 55.38                     | 50.06                     |                     5.32 | 9.61 0.54        |
| Total               | 32,87,263           | 701,673                   | 697898                    |                  3775    |                  |

## Annexure II

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3837 due for answer on 09.08.2016 regarding 'Forest Cover'

Category wise details of the extent of forest land diverted for non forest purpose from 1 st April, 2014 to 31 st March, 2016.

| S. NO.            | CATEGORY                   | Approved     | Approved                  |
|-------------------|----------------------------|--------------|---------------------------|
| S. NO.            | CATEGORY                   | No. of Cases | Total Land Diverted (Ha.) |
| 1                 | Borehole Prospecting       | 3            | 44.15                     |
| 2                 | Defence                    | 6            | 943.00                    |
| 3                 | Dispensary/Hospital        | 2            | 39.88                     |
| 4                 | Disputed Settlement Claims | 0            | 0.00                      |
| 5                 | Drinking Water             | 8            | 68.61                     |
| 6                 | Encroachments              | 0            | 0.00                      |
| 7                 | Forest Village Conversion  | 7            | 966.20                    |
| 8 Hydel           |                            | 5            | 481.92                    |
| 9                 | Industry                   | 27           | 67.30                     |
| 10                | 45                         |              | Irrigation 4157.35        |
| 11 Mining         |                            | 55           | 10381.00                  |
| 12                | Quarrying                  | 1            | 0.17                      |
| 13                | Railway                    | 20           | 620.94                    |
| 14 Rehabilitation |                            | 2            | 242.59                    |
| 15 Road           |                            | 152          | 2786.18                   |
| 16                | School                     | 7            | 1.80                      |
| 17                | Thermal                    | 8            | 2433.40                   |
| 18 Transmission   | Line                       | 112          | 3436.35                   |
| 19                | Village Electricity        | 0            | 0.00                      |
| 20                | Wind Power                 | 4            | 232.45                    |
| 21                | OTHERS                     | 427          | 2285.73                   |
| Total             | Total                      | 891          | 29189.02                  |

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3837 due for answer on 09.08.2016 regarding 'Forest Cover'

## Category wise details of the extent of forest land awaiting final clearance under FC Act 1980 for non-forest purpose

| S. NO.            | CATEGORY                   | Awaiting Final Approval   | Awaiting Final Approval   |
|-------------------|----------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|
| S. NO.            | CATEGORY                   | No. of Cases              | Total Land Diverted (Ha.) |
| 1                 | Borehole Prospecting       | 1                         | 1457.33                   |
| 2                 | Defence                    | 36                        | 6084.79                   |
| 3                 | Dispensary/Hospital        | 4                         | 0.17                      |
| 4                 | Disputed Settlement Claims | 0                         | 0.00                      |
| 5                 | Drinking Water             | 71                        | 1289.00                   |
| 6                 | Encroachments              | 0                         | 0.00                      |
| 7                 | Forest Village Conversion  | 2                         | 0.04                      |
| 8                 | Hydel                      | 40                        | 5869.13                   |
| 9                 | Industry                   | 17                        | 12.39                     |
| 10 Irrigation     | 81                         |                           | 7631.33                   |
| 11                | Mining                     | 125                       | 14095.38                  |
| 12                | Quarrying                  | 3                         | 15.20                     |
| 13                | Railway                    | 50                        | 1925.80                   |
| 14 Rehabilitation |                            | 1                         | 0.21                      |
| 15                | Road                       | 1084                      | 9197.95                   |
| 16                | School                     | 16                        | 30.30                     |
| 17                | Thermal                    | 6                         | 485.33                    |
| 18                | Transmission Line          | 293                       | 2426.92                   |
| 19                | Village Electricity        | 7                         | 7.51                      |
| 20                | Wind Power                 | 21                        | 714.50                    |
| 21                | OTHERS                     | 1046                      | 3232.80                   |
| Total             | Total                      | 2904                      | 54476.10                  |