Parliament Question: Assessment of the Quality of Forest Cover

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1264 TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.07.2026 Assessment of the Quality of Forest Cover

1264. SHRI VARUN CHAUDHRY:

SHRI JAI PRAKASH:

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

(a) whether there is any proposal under consideration for providing access to better satellite resolution to Forest Survey of India for improving the accuracy of India State of Forest Report, if so, the time frame by which it will be accessible, if not, the reasons therefor;

(b) whether the Government has undertaken an independent assessment of the quality of forest cover, including forest density and biodiversity, in addition to the area reported in the India State of Forest Report, if so, the details thereof;

(c) the details of forest land diverted for non-forest purposes during the last three years, State/UT and sector-wise; and

(d) whether compensatory afforestation has been carried out against all forest land diverted during the last five years, if so, the details of land identified, plantations raised and survival rates? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

(a) & (b) 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 publishes the findings in the India State of Forest Report (ISFR). The forest cover assessment is a wall-to-wall mapping exercise based on interpretation of multi-temporal satellite data supported by extensive ground truthing.

FSI periodically adopts technological and methodological advancements for improving the accuracy and reliability of forest cover mapping. Over the years, these advancements have included the use of improved satellite data, mapping at higher scales, and refinement in image interpretation techniques, while ensuring consistency and comparability of the assessment over time.

The ISFR provides an assessment of the quality of forest cover in addition to the extent of forest cover.

The report classifies forest cover on the basis of canopy density into Very Dense Forest (canopy density of 70% and above), Moderately Dense Forest (canopy density of 40% to less than 70%) and Open Forest (canopy density of 10% to less than 40%).

(c) The details of forest land approved for diversion under the provisions of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 during the last three years, State/UT-wise and sector-wise, are given at Annexure-I and Annexure-II, respectively.

(d) In compliance of the conditions stipulated under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, the compensatory afforestation is taken up by the concerned State/UT. As per the reports received from the States/UTs, the compensatory afforestation over an area of 1,78,261.52 hectares has been carried out during the last five years. The survival percentage of these plantations have been reported between 40% to 100%.Annexure-I Annexure referred to in reply of (c) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1264 due for answer on 27.07.2026 regarding ‘Assessment of the Quality of Forest Cover’ asked by Shri Jai Prakash and Shri Varun Chaudhry State/UT-wise area approved for diversion of forest land for non-forestry purposes under the provisions of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 during the period

01.04.2023 to 31.03.2026 Sl. No. State/UT Area Approved (ha.) 1 Andaman & Nicobar Islands 4.79 2 Andhra Pradesh 850.37 3 Arunachal Pradesh 7,334.87 4 Assam 601.51 5 Bihar 27.99 6 Chandigarh 0.24 7 Chhattisgarh 4,218.95 8 Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu 70.34 9 Delhi 108.30 10 Goa 50.48 11 Gujarat 2,501.43 12 Haryana 546.87 13 Himachal Pradesh 1,510.03 14 Jammu & Kashmir 729.14 15 Jharkhand 5,409.56 16 Karnataka 911.95 17 Kerala 62.42 18 Ladakh 0.94 19 Madhya Pradesh 19,432.14 20 Maharashtra 3,531.59 21 Manipur 1,617.26 22 Meghalaya 62.44 23 Mizoram 665.71 24 Nagaland 3.93 25 Odisha 8,965.71 26 Punjab 677.28 27 Rajasthan 3,553.67 28 Sikkim 866.64 29 Tamil Nadu 60.32 30 Telangana 1,853.29 31 Tripura 257.80 32 Uttar Pradesh 3,390.87 33 Uttarakhand 989.64 34 West Bengal 154.81 Total 71,023.30Annexure-II Annexure referred to in reply of (c) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1264 due for answer on 27.07.2026 regarding ‘Assessment of the Quality of Forest Cover’ asked by Shri Jai Prakash and Shri Varun Chaudhry Sector/category-wise area approved for diversion of forest land for non-forestry purposes under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 during the period

01.04.2023 to 31.03.2026 Sl. Category/Sector Area Approved No. (ha.) 1 Airport 0.09 2 Canal 115.02 3 Communication Post 20.08 4 Defence 6,276.01 5 Dispensary/Hospital 17.91 6 Drinking Water 999.74 7 Exploration & Survey 0.00 8 Forest Village Conversion 514.64 9 Hydel/Irrigation 14,294.41 10 Industry 110.40 11 Mining/Quarrying 16,463.28 12 Mining of Mineral Oil 11.25 13 Non-Conventional Source of Energy 7.17 14 Optical Fibre Cable/Telecommunication Lines 232.00 15 Others/Water/Rainwater Harvesting Structure 2,007.56 16 Petrol Pump 1,999.55 17 Pipeline 498.44 18 Police & Security Related Establishments 4.13 19 Power Transmission Line/Village Electricity 7,711.55 20 Railway 3,887.71 21 Rehabilitation 2,805.92 22 Road 12,714.93 23 School/Educational Institution 213.93 24 Thermal Power 41.66 25 Upgradation/Strengthening/Widening of Existing Bridge by 0.20 BRO 26 Wind Power/Solar Power/Power Sub-station 75.72 Total 71,023.30