Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
azadi ka amrit mahotsav

Forest coverage in the country

Posted On: 20 JUL 2023 5:29PM by PIB Delhi

Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun, an organization under the Ministry carries out the assessment of forest cover biennially, since 1987 and the findings are published in India State of Forest Report (ISFR). As per latest ISFR 2021, the total forest cover of the country is 7,13,789 square kilometer which is 21.71% of the geographical area of the country. The forest cover has increased by 1,540 square kilometer between ISFR 2019 and ISFR 2021 assessment. The State/UTs wise details of forest cover as per ISFR 2021 are given in Annexure.

To protect and improve the forest cover in the country, afforestation and tree plantation activities are undertaken by States/UTs. The Ministry provides financial assistance to States/UTs under various Centrally Sponsored Schemes namely Green India Mission (GIM) to support and supplement the efforts of States and Union Territories. GIM activities were started in the Financial Year 2015-16. During the last five years, the amount of Rs. 755.68 Crores has been released to seventeen States and one union territory for taking up the afforestation activities.

The Ministry has also implemented Centrally Sponsored Scheme, National Afforestation programme for regeneration of degraded forest and adjoining areas in the country.Under the scheme, an amount of Rs. 108.57 crore has been released during the years 2019-20 to 2021-22. National Afforestation Programme is now stands merged with Green India Mission.

The Ministry is implementing Nagar Van Yojana (NVY) since the year 2020 which envisages creation of 600 Nagar Vans and 400 Nagar Vatika in the country during the period 2020-21 to 2024-25 under the funds available under Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAMPA). The Nagar Van Yojana aims to enhance the green cover in the urban and peri-urban areas including biological diversity, provide ecological benefits and improve the quality of life of city dwellers. So far, the Ministry has approved 270 projects under Nagar Van Yojana with the total cost of Rs.238.64 Crore.

The Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAMPA fund) is being utilized by States/UTs for taking up compensatory afforestation as per approved Annual Plan of Operations for compensating the loss of forest & tree cover due to diversion of forest land for developmental projects as per provisions of Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016 (CAF Act) and CAF Rules, 2018. During the last five years, an amount of Rs. 55,394.16 Crore has been released to State/UT Forest Department under CAMPA funds.

 Afforestation activities are also taken up under various programmes and schemes of line Ministry such as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, National Bamboo Mission, Sub-Mission on Agroforestry etc. and under schemes of State Government/UT Administration through different departments, Non-Government Organizations, Civil Society, Corporate bodies etc. The multi departmental efforts have yielded good results in conserving and enhancing forest cover in the country.

The Ministry takes various steps to combat forest fires. The Ministry supports the efforts of the States/UTs in prevention and control of forest fire by providing financial assistance for various forest fire prevention and management measures such as modern tools for fire extinguishing, use of communication and information technology, etc. creation and maintenance of fire lines in forest areas, engagement of fire watchers, creation of water storage structures in forest areas, strengthening of forest infrastructure, procurement of firefighting equipment, soil and moisture conservation works in high risk areas, awareness creation, incentivizing villages/communities for protection against forest fire etc. under the Centrally Sponsored Forest Fire Prevention and Management Scheme.

Annexure

Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of the Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No. 45  due for answer on 20.07.2023 regarding ‘Forest coverage in the country’

State/UTs details of Forest Cover as per ISFR 2021

(Area in square kilometer)

S. No.

State/UT

Geo-graphical Area (GA)

Total Forest Cover

Percentage of Geographical area

Change in Forest Cover w.r.t. ISFR 2019

Change Percentage

w.r.t. 2019 assessment

Scrub

1

Andhra Pradesh

1,62,968

29,784

18.28

647

2.22

8,276

2

Arunachal Pradesh

83,743

66,431

79.33

-257

-0.39

797

3

Assam

78,438

28,312

36.09

-15

-0.05

228

4

Bihar

94,163

7,381

7.84

75

1.03

236

5

Chhattisgarh

1,35,192

55,717

41.21

106

0.19

615

6

Delhi

1,483

195.00

13.15

-0.44

-0.23

0.38

7

Goa

3,702

2,244

60.62

7

0.31

0

8

Gujarat

1,96,244

14,926

7.61

69

0.46

2,828

9

Haryana

44,212

1,603

3.63

1

0.06

159

10

Himachal  Pradesh

55,673

15,443

27.73

9

0.06

322

11

Jharkhand

79,716

23,721

29.76

110

0.47

584

12

Karnataka

1,91,791

38,730

20.19

155

0.40

4,611

13

Kerala

38,852

21,253

54.70

109

0.52

30

14

Madhya Pradesh

3,08,252

77,493

25.14

11

0.01

5,457

15

Maharashtra

3,07,713

50,798

16.51

20

0.04

4,247

16

Manipur

22,327

16,598

74.34

-249

-1.48

1,215

17

Meghalaya

22,429

17,046

76.00

-73

-0.43

663

18

Mizoram

21,081

17,820

84.53

-186

-1.03

1

19

Nagaland

16,579

12,251

73.90

-235

-1.88

824

20

Odisha

1,55,707

52,156

33.50

537

1.04

4,924

21

Punjab

50,362

1,847

3.67

-2

-0.11

34

22

Rajasthan

3,42,239

16,655

4.87

25

0.15

4,809

23

Sikkim

7,096

3,341

47.08

-1

-0.03

296

24

Tamil Nadu

1,30,060

26,419

20.31

55

0.21

758

25

Telangana

1,12,077

21,214

18.93

632

3.07

2,911

26

Tripura

10,486

7,722

73.64

-4

-0.05

33

27

Uttar Pradesh

2,40,928

14,818

6.15

12

0.08

563

28

Uttarakhand

53,483

24,305

45.44

2

0.01

392

29

West Bengal

88,752

16,832

18.96

-70

-0.41

156

30

A & N Islands

8,249

6,744

81.75

1

0.01

1

31

Chandigarh

114

22.88

20.07

0.85

3.86

0.38

32

Dadra & Nagar Haveli
and Daman & Diu

602

227.75

37.83

0.10

0.04

4.85

33

Jammu & Kashmir

2,22,236

21,387

39.15

29

0.14

284

34

Ladakh

2,272

1.35

18

0.80

279

35

Lakshadweep

30

27.10

90.33

0.00

0.00

0.00

36

Puducherry

490

53.30

10.88

0.89

1.70

0.00

Total

32,87,469

7,13,789

21.71

1,540

0.22

46,539

 

This information was given by Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

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