Parliament Question: Forest Conservation and Afforestation Schemes in Telangana

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2360 TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.08.2025 Forest Conservation and Afforestation Schemes in Telangana

2360. SHRI KUNDURU RAHUVEER:

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

state:

(a) the details of various schemes implemented by the Government for forest conservation, afforestation and ecological restoration in Telangana since 2019;

(b) the funds allocated and released to Telangana under each of these Schemes, year and scheme-wise;

(c) the details of physical targets and achievements under these schemes, including area afforested, saplings planted and degraded forest land restored;

(d) whether the Government has reviewed the performance and impact of these Schemes in Telangana, particularly in districts with low forest cover like Nalgonda;

(e) whether any proposals from the Telangana Government are pending for clearance or fund release under Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), Green India Mission, or other Centrally sponsored schemes; and

(f) if so, the details thereof and the expected timeline for their approval and implementation? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

(a) to (d) The Ministry has undertaken several initiatives for afforestation in the State of Telangana. The details of the various schemes implemented for forest conservation, afforestation, and ecological restoration in Telangana since 2019 are

as follows:

(i) The Nagar Van Yojana (NVY), aimed at creating forest/green spaces in urban and peri-urban areas, is being implemented since 2020–21 through the State/UT Forest Departments and Urban Local Bodies. The scheme is funded by the National Authority of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA). Under this scheme, 60 projects covering an area of 1,690.6 hectares have been approved in Telangana, and ₹24.72 crore has been released over the past five years.

(ii) The Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Act, 2016 and the CAF Rules, 2018 aim to mitigate the loss of forest cover and associated ecosystem services resulting from the diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes. This is achieved through activities such as compensatory afforestation, restoration ofdegraded forests, enhancement of wildlife habitats, and biodiversity enrichment.

The details of the funds approved for the State of Telangana and the status of Compensatory Afforestation (CA) carried out under CAMPA funds since 2019– 20 are provided in the Annexure.

(iii) The Ministry supplements the efforts of State/Union Territory Governments in prevention and control of forest fire by providing financial assistance under the Centrally Sponsored Forest Fire Prevention and Management Scheme. Under this scheme a total of ₹ 4.05 crores has been provided to the Telangana during the period 2019-20 to 2024-25

(iv) The 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' campaign was launched on 5th June 2024 to promote voluntary tree planting as a mark of love, respect, and honour for mothers. In the current year, Telangana has planted 1,15,74,904 trees under this campaign.

(v) The Ministry promotes citizen and stakeholder participation in mass tree plantation programmes on special occasions such as the International Day of Forests, World Environment Day, Van Mahotsav, Wildlife Week, etc., on a voluntary basis. These programmes, along with State-funded schemes, have enabled afforestation and reforestation over 21.15 lakh hectares through the plantation of 143 crore seedlings in Telangana during the period 2019–20 to 2024–25.

(e) & (f) The Green India Mission is currently not being implemented by Telangana, and no proposal under CAMPA is pending in respect of the State. ***Annexure Annexure referred to in reply of the Lok Sabha Un-Starred Question No. 2360 due for reply on 04.08.2025 by Shri Kunduru Rahuveer regarding “Forest Conservation and Afforestation Schemes in Telangana” Funds released under Compensatory Afforestation status of Telangana State 2019-2024-25 Approved Annual Plan Target Achievement Sr No. Year of Operations (in Ha) (in Ha) (Rs crores) 2019-20 501.26 6268.86 4414.51 1 2020-21 483.78 4643.72 4178.16 2 3 2021-22 752.71 3330.77 2490.07 4 2022-23 772.65 2799.41 2052.71 5 2023-24 455.3 918.771 551.12 6 2024-25 386.8 17961.54 13686.57 ***