Present Scenario of Forest Land in Different States

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE

RAJYA SABHA

QUESTION NO 503

ANSWERED ON 27.11.2014

Present scenario of forest land in different States

503 SHRI BHUPINDER SINGH

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to satate :-

(a) the total forest land coverage of the country in 1950, State-wise;

(b) the present scenario of forest land in different States in the country;

(d) the measures that have been taken by Government to check global warming?

ANSWER

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

(SHRI PRAKASH JAVADEKAR):

(a) & (b) Forest Survey of India, has been doing assessment of forest resources of the country on biennial basis since 1987. The data of forest cover of the country in 1950 is not available. The details of State wise recorded forest areas as per India State of Forest Report 2013 are given in Annexure I.

(c) & (d) As per India State of Forest Report-2013, there is a net increase of 5871 square kilometers in the forest cover of the country as compared to 2011 assessment. India follows a path of sustainable development through a range of policies and programmes to mitigate climate change aimed at energy conservation, improved energy efficiency in various sectors; promoting use of renewable energy; power sector reforms; use of cleaner and lesser carbon intensive fuel for transport; fuel switching to cleaner energy; afforestation and conservation of forests; promotion of clean coal technologies and encouraging Mass Rapid Transport systems.

The National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) has operationalised eight National Missions in specific areas of Solar Energy, Enhanced Energy Efficiency, Sustainable Habitat,Water, Sustaining the Himalayan Eco-system, Green India, Sustainable Agriculture and Strategic knowledge for Climate Change, to meet the challenges of Climate Change and enhance the ecological sustainability of India’s development path.

*********

ANNEXURE

Annexure-I

Annexure referred to in reply to part (b) of the RajyaSabhaUnstarred Question No. 503 due for answer on 27-11-2014 regarding Present scenario of forest land in different States.

Recorded Forest Areas in States and UTs

(Area in Square Kilometers)

States/UTs / Geographical Area / Total Recorded Forest Area / Percentage of Recorded Forest Area to the total geographical area
Andhra Pradesh / 2,75,069 / 63,814 / 23.2
Arunachal Pradesh / 83,743 / 51,541 / 61.55
Assam / 78,438 / 26,832 / 34.21
Bihar / 94,163 / 6,473 / 6.87
Chhattisgarh / 1,35,191 / 59,772 / 44.21
Delhi / 1,483 / 85 / 5.73
Goa / 3,702 / 1,225 / 33.09
Gujarat / 1,96,022 / 21,647 / 11.04
Haryana / 44,212 / 1,559 / 3.53
Himachal Pradesh / 55,673 / 37,033 / 66.52
Jammu & Kashmir / 2,22,236 / 20,230 / 9.1
Jharkhand / 79,714 / 23,605 / 29.61
Karnataka / 1,91,791 / 38,284 / 19.96
Kerala / 38,863 / 11,309 / 29.1
Madhya Pradesh / 3,08,245 / 94,689 / 30.72
Maharashtra / 3,07,713 / 61,357 / 19.94
Manipur / 22,327 / 17,418 / 78.01
Meghalaya / 22,429 / 9,496 / 42.34
Mizoram / 21,081 / 16,717 / 79.3
Nagaland / 16,579 / 9,222 / 55.62
Odisha / 1,55,707 / 58,136 / 37.34
Punjab / 50,362 / 3,084 / 6.12
Rajasthan / 3,42,239 / 32,737 / 9.57
Sikkim / 7,096 / 5,841 / 82.31
Tamil Nadu / 1,30,058 / 22,877 / 17.59
Tripura / 10,486 / 6,294 / 60.02
Uttar Pradesh / 2,40,928 / 16,583 / 6.88
Uttarakhand / 53,483 / 34,651 / 64.79
West Bengal / 88,752 / 11,879 / 13.38
A&NIslands / 8,249 / 7,171 / 86.93
Chandigarh / 114 / 35 / 30.7
Dadra & Nagar Haveli / 491 / 204 / 41.55
Daman & Diu / 112 / 8 / 7.38
Lakshadweep / 32 / 0 / 0
Puducherry / 480 / 13 / 2.71
Grand Total / 32,87,263 / 771,821 / 23.48