Lok Sabha Question No. 122 (STARRED), answered on 2026-02-09
Subject: Forest Cover in Urban Areas
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Shri Balwant Baswant Wankhade

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

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO 122

TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.02.2026

## Forest Cover in Urban Areas

- *122.  SHRI BALWANT BASWANT WANKHADE:

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

- (a) whether the forest cover in urban areas has been disappearing very fast and it is well below six per cent in some metro cities, if so, the details thereof; and
- (b) the  present  status  of  smart  cities  which  have  the  target  of  having  maximum  green covered area?

## ANSWER

MINISTER FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI BHUPENDER YADAV)

- (a) to (b): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

***

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) TO (B) OF LOK SABHA STARRED  QUESTION  NO.122  DUE  FOR  REPLY  ON  09.02.2026  REGARDING 'FOREST COVER IN URBAN AREAS' BY SHRI  BALWANT  BASWANT WANKHADE:

(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 total forest cover of mega cities namely Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Ahmedabad is 511.81 square kilometer which is 10.26% of the total geographical area of the cities. There is an increase of 2.09 square kilometer of forest cover of the mega cities as compared to the previous assessment reported in ISFR, 2021.  The details of forest cover of the mega cities are given in Annexure .

As  per  the  India  State  of  Forest  Report,  the  overall  forest  cover  in  major  urban  areas  has remained broadly stable during the recent assessment period. The forest cover in major mega cities  varies  widely  depending  on  factors  such  as  location,  policies  and  environmental priorities.  While  some  cities  have  significant  green  spaces  and  forested  areas,  others  have relatively limited greenery due to urbanization.

(b)  The  objective  of  Smart  Cities  Mission  (SCM)  is  to  follow  an  area-based  development approach through retrofitting, redevelopment, greenfield development and a Pan-city through initiative smart solutions to cover larger parts of the city, so as to create a replicable model. The  cities  under  SCM  developed  based  on  Smart  City  Proposals  (SCPs)  received  from States/UTs, across various sectors, viz., smart mobility, Water, Sanitation, Hygiene (WASH), smart  governance,  smart  energy,  environment  etc.,  approved  by  High  Powered  Steering Committee (HPSC) chaired by the Chief Secretary.

*********

Annexure Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of the Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 122 due for answer on 09.02.2026 regarding 'Forest Cover in Urban Areas'

## Change in Forest Cover in Major Mega Cities

(Area in square kilometer)

| Name of Mega City   |   Total Forest Cover (ISFR 2021) |   Total Forest Cover (ISFR 2023) |   Forest Cover Change between ISFR 2021 and ISFR 2023 |
|---------------------|----------------------------------|----------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|
| Ahmedabad           |                             9.41 |                            14.89 |                                                  5.48 |
| Bengaluru           |                            89.02 |                            89.61 |                                                  0.59 |
| Chennai             |                            22.7  |                            20.06 |                                                 -2.64 |
| Delhi               |                           194.23 |                           194.15 |                                                 -0.08 |
| Hyderabad           |                            81.81 |                            80.2  |                                                 -1.61 |
| Kolkata             |                             1.77 |                             2.06 |                                                  0.29 |
| Mumbai              |                           110.78 |                           110.84 |                                                  0.06 |
| Total               |                           509.72 |                           511.81 |                                                  2.09 |