Lok Sabha Question No. 304 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-02
Subject: Expansion of Forest Area in the Country
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Shri Balwant Baswant Wankhade

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 304

TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.02.2026

## Expansion of Forest Area in the Country

## 304.     SHRI BALWANT BASWANT WANKHADE:

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

- (a) the details of forest cover in hectares in the country along with their percentage, State/UT-wise;
- (b) the national coverage of forest area in terms of hectares and percentage;
- (c) whether the Government proposes to make any new effort for the expansion of forest area in the country, if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the details of the funds provided by the Government for conservation, development and promotion of forests in the country during the last three years and the current year, State/UT-wise including Chhattisgarh; and
- (e) the details of the success achieved as a result thereof?

## 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  exercise  based  on  remote sensing supported by intensive ground verification and field data from  the National  Forest Inventory.

As per ISFR 2023, the forest cover of the country is 7,15,34,261 hectare which is 21.76% of the total geographical area of the country.  The State/UT wise details of forest cover in the country is given in Annexure-I .

(b) & (c) As per ISFR, the Recorded Forest Area is 7,75,37,700 hectares which is 23.59% of the total geographical area of the country. The  land is recorded as forest area by the concerns State/UT under the State Act or local law.

(d) & (e) The  Ministry provides technical and financial support to States and UTs through various  schemes  and  programmes  of  the  Central  Government  for  increasing  forest  cover including protection, conservation and management of forests in the country. This includes the National Mission for a Green India (GIM),  Nagar Van Yojana (NVY), Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes (MISHTI).

National  Authority,  CAMPA, also approves  the Annual  Plans  of  Operation  (APOs)  of  the concerned States and Union Territories in accordance with the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016 and the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Rules, 2018.

Further, a plantation campaign ' एक पेड़ माँ क े नाम #Plant4Mother' has also been launched on the  occasion  of  World  Environment  Day  2024  and  in  the  current  year  also  to  undertake plantation activities across the country.  This campaign follows the 'Whole of Government' and 'Whole of Society' approach with participation of all stakeholders for increasing the green cover  in  the  country.  The  campaign  has  contributed  large  scale  plantation  aiding  the enhancement of green cover in the country.

The  details  of  funds  provided  by  the  Ministry  to  States  and  UTs  including  the  State  of Chhattisgarh during the last three years under the Green India Mission, CAMPA, Nagar Van Yojana and MISHTI are given at Annexure-II to Annexure-V respectively.

It is a result of the comprehensive action taken regarding protection and conservation of forests as  well  as  afforestation  efforts  that  the  forest  cover  has  increased  from  7,12,249.00  square kilometer in ISFR 2019 as compared to 7,15,342.61 square kilometer in ISFR 2023.

*******

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 304 due for answer on 02.02.2026 regarding 'Expansion of Forest Area in the Country'

## State-wise/UT wise details of Forest Cover  as per ISFR 2023

## (Area in hectares)

|   S.No. | State /UT                          | Geographical Area (GA)   | Total Forest Cover 2023   | %of GA   |
|---------|------------------------------------|--------------------------|---------------------------|----------|
|       1 | Andhra Pradesh                     | 1,62,92,257              | 30,08,496                 | 18.47    |
|       2 | Arunachal Pradesh                  | 83,74,322                | 65,88,157                 | 78.67    |
|       3 | Assam                              | 78,43,800                | 28,31,355                 | 36.10    |
|       4 | Bihar                              | 94,16,300                | 7,53,245                  | 8.00     |
|       5 | Chhattisgarh                       | 1,35,19,200              | 55,81,175                 | 41.28    |
|       6 | Delhi                              | 1,48,300                 | 19,528                    | 13.17    |
|       7 | Goa                                | 3,70,200                 | 2,26,572                  | 61.20    |
|       8 | Gujarat                            | 1,96,24,400              | 15,01,664                 | 7.65     |
|       9 | Haryana                            | 44,21,200                | 1,61,426                  | 3.65     |
|      10 | Himachal Pradesh                   | 55,67,300                | 15,58,035                 | 27.99    |
|      11 | Jharkhand                          | 79,71,600                | 23,76,578                 | 29.81    |
|      12 | Karnataka                          | 1,91,79,100              | 39,25,427                 | 20.47    |
|      13 | Kerala                             | 38,85,200                | 22,05,936                 | 56.78    |
|      14 | Madhya Pradesh                     | 3,08,25,211              | 77,07,344                 | 25.00    |
|      15 | Maharashtra                        | 3,07,71,300              | 50,85,853                 | 16.53    |
|      16 | Manipur                            | 22,32,700                | 16,58,546                 | 74.28    |
|      17 | Meghalaya                          | 22,42,900                | 16,96,684                 | 75.65    |
|      18 | Mizoram                            | 21,08,100                | 17,99,046                 | 85.34    |
|      19 | Nagaland                           | 16,57,900                | 12,22,247                 | 73.72    |
|      20 | Odisha                             | 1,55,70,700              | 52,43,356                 | 33.67    |
|      21 | Punjab                             | 50,36,200                | 1,84,609                  | 3.67     |
|      22 | Rajasthan                          | 3,42,23,899              | 16,54,821                 | 4.84     |
|      23 | Sikkim                             | 7,09,600                 | 3,35,840                  | 47.33    |
|      24 | Tamil Nadu                         | 1,30,06,000              | 26,45,022                 | 20.34    |
|      25 | Telangana                          | 1,12,12,244              | 21,17,904                 | 18.89    |
|      26 | Tripura                            | 10,48,600                | 7,58,477                  | 72.33    |
|      27 | Uttar Pradesh                      | 2,40,92,756              | 15,04,580                 | 6.24     |
|      28 | Uttarakhand                        | 53,48,336                | 24,30,383                 | 45.44    |
|      29 | West Bengal                        | 88,75,200                | 16,83,233                 | 18.97    |
|      30 | A&NIslands                         | 8,24,900                 | 6,73,292                  | 81.62    |
|      31 | Chandigarh                         | 11,400                   | 2,500                     | 21.93    |
|      32 | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman& Diu | 60,200                   | 22,562                    | 37.48    |
|      33 | Jammu &Kashmir                     | 2,22,23,600              | 21,34,639                 |          |
|      34 | Ladakh                             |                          | 2,28,592                  | 10.63    |
|      35 | Lakshadweep                        | 2,963                    | 2,706                     | 91.33    |

| 36   | Puducherry   | 49,000       | 4,431       |   9.04 |
|------|--------------|--------------|-------------|--------|
|      | Total        | 32,87,46,888 | 7,15,34,261 |  21.76 |

Annexure-II

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (d) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 304 due for answer on 02.02.2026 regarding 'Expansion of Forest Area in the Country'

## Details of funds released to the States/UTs during the last three years and in the current year under National Mission for a Green India (GIM)

(Rs. in Crores)

|   Sl. No. | States / Year     |   2022-23 |   2023-24 |   2024-25 |   2025-26 (till date) |
|-----------|-------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------------------|
|         1 | Arunachal Pradesh |   21.28   |      0    |      0    |                  0    |
|         2 | Chhattisgarh      |    0      |      0.09 |      0    |                  2.74 |
|         3 | Haryana           |    0      |      7.6  |     30.58 |                 25.65 |
|         4 | Jammu &Kashmir    |    6.49   |      0    |      4.5  |                  0    |
|         5 | Karnataka         |    2.93   |      2.33 |      4.99 |                  0.95 |
|         6 | Kerala            |    0      |      0    |      0    |                  8.49 |
|         7 | Madhya Pradesh    |   17.93   |      8.62 |     23.61 |                  0    |
|         8 | Manipur           |    5.45   |      8.91 |      0    |                  0    |
|         9 | Mizoram           |   36.27   |     21.13 |      0    |                  8.9  |
|        10 | Odisha            |    8.4756 |     12.59 |      0    |                  0    |
|        11 | Punjab            |    2.7393 |      5.38 |      0    |                  0    |
|        12 | Sikkim            |    6.57   |      7.5  |     12.24 |                  6.61 |
|        13 | Uttarakhand       |   28.4    |     31.94 |     25.16 |                  0    |
|        14 | West Bengal       |    0.76   |      0.76 |      0    |                  0    |
|        15 | Uttar Pradesh     |    0      |      5.43 |      0    |                  0    |

Annexure-III

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (d) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 304 due for answer on 02.02.2026 regarding 'Expansion of Forest Area in the Country'

## Details of funds approved in Annual Plan of Operations of States/UTs CAMPA by National Authority during the last three years and in the current year

(Rs. in Crores)

| S. No.   |                           | APO Approved   | APO Approved   | APO Approved   | APO Approved        |
|----------|---------------------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|---------------------|
| S. No.   | State/Year                | 2022-23        | 2023-24        | 2024-25        | 2025-26 (till date) |
| 1        | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 10.97          | 6.7            | 10.42          | 5.9                 |
| 2        | Andhra Pradesh            | 224.09         | 226.75         | 253.6          | 255.74              |
| 3        | Arunachal Pradesh         | 195.29         | 190.69         | 126.55         | 390.3               |
| 4        | Assam                     | 162.57         | 109.69         | 104.39         | 102.75              |
| 5        | Bihar                     | 115.42         | 37.88          | 65.18          | -                   |
| 6        | Chandigarh                | 1.66           | 1.54           | 1.4            | 0.75                |
| 7        | Chhattisgarh              | 688.46         | 471.21         | 401.69         | 537.13              |
| 8        | Delhi                     | 33.93          | 47.15          | 34.55          | 47.8                |
| 9        | Goa                       | 36.53          | 31.28          | 29.56          | 33.68               |
| 10       | Gujarat                   | 205.4          | 250.02         | 310.5          | 400.45              |
| 11       | Haryana                   | 270.68         | 69.03          | 120.83         | 192.32              |
| 12       | Himachal Pradesh          | 190.23         | 185.14         | 184.52         | 254.44              |
| 13       | Jammu& Kashmir            | 312.69         | 370.55         | 180.18         | 128.17              |
| 14       | Jharkhand                 | 764.85         | 412.14         | 654.62         | 984.86              |
| 15       | Karnataka                 | 270.98         | 313.89         | 288.06         | 337.9               |
| 16       | Kerala                    | 17.26          | 9.06           | 8.93           | 8.27                |
| 17       | Ladakh                    | -              | 60.55          | 76.94          | 89.89               |
| 18       | Madhya Pradesh            | 889.84         | 1070.6         | 1398.42        | 1443.63             |
| 19       | Maharashtra               | 708.11         | 597.57         | 730.65         | 531.24              |
| 20       | Manipur                   | 22.59          | 20.26          | 27.36          | 44.52               |
| 21       | Meghalaya                 | 26.67          | 30.91          | 24.75          | 25.11               |
| 22       | Mizoram                   | 16.74          | 14.6           | 22.77          | 3.86                |
| 23       | Odisha                    | 1191.31        | 948.04         | 1112.93        | 1012.63             |
| 24       | Punjab                    | 203.01         | 257.1          | 125.94         | 165.68              |
| 25       | Rajasthan                 | 249.19         | 286.49         | 198.44         | 269.7               |
| 26       | Sikkim                    | 69.82          | 79.95          | 44             | 110.39              |
| 27       | Tamil Nadu                | 38.22          | 44.15          | 35.27          | 23.46               |
| 28       | Telangana                 | 772.65         | 455.3          | 386.8          | 412.99              |
| 29       | Tripura                   | 52.9           | 85.77          | 61.87          | 90.71               |
| 30       | Uttar Pradesh             | 344.08         | 172.04         | 155.57         | 163.27              |
| 31       | Uttarakhand               | 320.15         | 383.82         | 335.37         | 403.67              |
| 32       | West Bengal               | 52.83          | 79.4           | 63.51          | 90.13               |

## Annexure-IV

Annexure referred to in reply to part (d) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 304 due for answer on 02.02.2026 regarding 'Expansion of Forest Area in the Country'

## Details of the fund released to the States/UTs during last three years and in current year under Nagar Van Yojana

## (Rs. in Crores)

|   SI No | State/Year        |   2022-23 |   2023-24 |   2024-25 |   2025-26 (till date) |
|---------|-------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------------------|
|       1 | Andhra Pradesh    |    358.61 |  5888.37  |  3549.55  |              1240.47  |
|       2 | Arunachal Pradesh |     56    |     0     |    24     |               208.971 |
|       3 | Assam             |      0    |     0     |     0     |                 0     |
|       4 | Bihar             |    137.61 |    44.802 |    15.16  |                 0     |
|       5 | Chandigarh        |     13.41 |     0     |     0     |                 0     |
|       6 | Chhattisgarh      |      0    |     0     |     0     |               762.786 |
|       7 | Goa               |      0    |    61.59  |     0     |                 0     |
|       8 | Gujarat           |    203    |     0     |   242.5   |                 0     |
|       9 | Himachal Pradesh  |    319.4  |     0     |     0     |                 0     |
|      10 | Jammu& Kashmir    |    476.28 |   107.34  |   787.25  |                 0     |
|      11 | Jharkhand         |   1341.41 |   145.293 |     0     |                 0     |
|      12 | Karnataka         |      0    |   260.44  |  1598.65  |                 0     |
|      13 | Kerala            |      0    |     0     |     0     |               473.35  |
|      14 | Madhya Pradesh    |   1175.09 |     0     |  3260.97  |              2705.41  |
|      15 | Maharashtra       |    193.87 |     0     |     0     |                 0     |
|      16 | Manipur           |      0    |     0     |     0     |               208.964 |
|      17 | Meghalaya         |    242.76 |     0     |     0     |                 0     |
|      18 | Mizoram           |   1766.1  |   121.74  |     0     |                 0     |
|      19 | Nagaland          |      0    |  1892.49  |   172.44  |               616.08  |
|      20 | Punjab            |      0    |   360.53  |     0     |                 0     |
|      21 | Rajasthan         |    848.12 |    72.8   |   914.96  |              1292.64  |
|      22 | Sikkim            |    390.97 |    42     |   653.489 |                 0     |
|      23 | Tamil Nadu        |    630    |     0     |     0     |                 0     |
|      24 | Telangana         |    582.88 |     0     |  1890     |               826.7   |
|      25 | Tripura           |      0    |   151.44  |     0     |                 0     |
|      26 | Uttar Pradesh     |      5.6  |     0     |   831.6   |               110.84  |
|      27 | Uttarakhand       |     86.72 |     0     |     0     |                 0     |
|      28 | West Bengal       |     16.8  |   158.07  |     0     |                 0     |

## Annexure-V Annexure referred to in reply to part (d) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 304 due for answer on 02.02.2026 regarding 'Expansion of Forest Area in the Country' Details of the fund released to the States/UTs during last three years and in current

## year under MISHTI

(Rs. in Crore )

|   SI No | State/Year     |   2024-25 | 2025-26 (till date)   |
|---------|----------------|-----------|-----------------------|
|       1 | Andhra Pradesh |      4.71 | 8.368                 |
|       2 | Gujarat        |      6.2  | 61.10                 |
|       3 | Odisha         |      0.7  | -                     |
|       4 | Puducherry     |      1.94 | -                     |
|       5 | Kerala         |      0.67 | 1.014                 |
|       6 | West Bengal    |      3.74 | -                     |