Forest land is continuously being used for development projects in India. In the last three years, more than 71 thousand hectares of forest land has been approved for non-forest purposes for projects like roads, railways, mining, electricity and irrigation. The Central Government gave this information in the Lok Sabha. According to the government, between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2026, a total of 71,023.30 hectares of forest land across the country was approved for other purposes.
The government says that to compensate for the amount of forest land that has been used for development work, tree plantation is also being done in return. In the last five years, plantation has been done in 1,78,261.52 hectare area. The government also said that the survival rate of these plants ranges between 40% to 100% in different states. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change gave this information in response to a question asked in the Lok Sabha.
The quality of forests is also seen
The government said that the Forest Survey of India (FSI) assesses the forests in the country every two years. For this, both satellite images and ground investigations are used. In the report, not only the area of forests is seen, but their quality is also measured. Forests are divided into three parts on the basis of density of trees – very dense forest, medium dense forest and open forest. The government says that from time to time the accuracy of the reports is being increased by using new technology and better satellite data.
- In 3 years, 71,023.30 hectares of forest land was approved for non-forest purposes.
- In the last 5 years, compensatory afforestation was done in 1,78,261.52 hectare area.
- Plant survival rates were reported to be between 40% and 100%.
In which state was more land given (Getty Image)
In which states was the maximum forest land given?
According to government data, maximum forest land was sanctioned for non-forest purposes in Madhya Pradesh. Diversion of 19,432.14 hectares of land took place here. After this, 8,965.71 hectares of forest land in Odisha, 7,334.87 hectares in Arunachal Pradesh, 5,409.56 hectares in Jharkhand and 4,218.95 hectares in Chhattisgarh were used for other projects. In Uttar Pradesh also, 3,390.87 hectares of forest land was approved.
Forests were used the most
According to government figures, most of the forest land was given for mining. Approval was given to use 16,463.28 hectares of forest land in this area. After this, 14,294.41 hectares of forest land was given for hydel and irrigation projects and 12,714.93 hectares of forest land was given for road construction. Apart from this, 7,711.55 hectares of forest land was sanctioned for power transmission lines, 6,276.01 hectares for defense projects and 3,887.71 hectares of forest land for railway projects.
Forest land given least in these states
The least amount of forest land sanctioned for non-forest purposes was in Chandigarh, where only 0.24 hectares of land was diverted. After this, 0.94 hectares of forest land in Ladakh, 3.93 hectares in Nagaland and 4.79 hectares in Andaman and Nicobar Islands were approved for non-forest purposes. Whereas 27.99 hectares of forest land was diverted in Bihar, 50.48 hectares in Goa, 60.32 hectares in Tamil Nadu, 62.42 hectares in Kerala, 62.44 hectares in Meghalaya and 70.34 hectares of forest land in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. In these states and union territories, the least amount of forest land was sanctioned for non-forest purposes during the last three years.
The least amount of land was given for these projects
In the last three years, very little forest land was required for some projects. At the very least, only 0.09 hectare forest land was sanctioned for the airport, while 0.20 hectare land was given for widening and strengthening of existing BRO bridges. Similarly, 7.17 hectares of forest land was approved for non-conventional energy projects, 11.25 hectares for mineral oil exploration, 17.91 hectares for hospitals and dispensaries and 20.08 hectares for communication posts.
Forest land for non-forest purposes (Getty Image)
Whereas, relatively less forest land was also diverted for thermal power (41.66 hectares), wind and solar energy/power sub-stations (75.72 hectares), canal projects (115.02 hectares), schools and educational institutions (213.93 hectares) and optical fiber and telecom lines (232 hectares). At the same time, no forest land was approved for exploration and survey during this period.
Legal process before giving land
The government says that before approving any forest land for non-forest purposes, the process is completed under the law. After this, compensatory afforestation is done in the concerned state or union territory. That is, to compensate for the amount of forest land that is used for development purposes, trees are planted elsewhere. According to the government, such plantations have been done in more than 1.78 lakh hectare area in the last five years.
How is the quality of forests measured?
The government said that Forest Survey of India surveys forests across the country on the basis of satellite data and ground investigations. In the report, forests are divided into three categories based on the density of trees. Areas where the density of trees is 70% or more are considered as very dense forests, areas between 40% to 70% are considered as moderately dense forests and areas with density between 10% to 40% are considered as open forests.
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