Parliament Question: Permissions for tree felling and forest diversion

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 697 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.02.2026 Permissions for tree felling and forest diversion 697. SMT. RENUKA CHOWDHURY: Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state: (a) the number of permissions/approvals granted by the Central Government for tree felling and forest diversion during the last five years, year-wise; (b) the area of forest land diverted for infrastructure, industrial, mining, energy, transport, urban development and other projects during the said period, year-wise and project- wise; (c) the number of trees approved for felling and the number of trees actually felled, year- wise during the said period; (d) the break-up of forest diversion and tree felling approvals during the said period, State- wise; and (e) whether Government has assessed the cumulative environmental impact of such large- scale tree felling and forest diversion? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH) (a) to (e) The proposals for diversion of forest land including all development projects are considered for approval on case to case basis under the provisions of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 and rules and guidelines issued thereunder. As per the conditions of approval, the States/UTs concerned have to ensure that minimum number of trees are felled and wherever feasible translocation of trees are to be done. The permission for felling of trees are given by the concerned States/UTs under various Acts, Rules, Guidelines and in accordance with the relevant directions of Hon'ble Courts, if any. The data of trees felled in such cases is not maintained at the level of the Central Government. During the period from 2020-21 to 2024-25, The Central Government has granted prior approval under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 for diversion of forest land for non-forestry purposes to 6188 proposals involving 92,062.85 hectare of forest land for non-forestry use. The year wise and category wise details of approvals granted from 2020-21 to 2024-25 is enclosed at Annexure-I. In accordance with the provisions of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 and the rules framed thereunder, proposals received from the State Governments arecomprehensively examined by the Advisory Committee constituted under Section 3 of the Adhiniyam. Such examination includes due diligence in assessing the direct and indirect impacts of diversion of forest land for non-forestry purposes on forests, wildlife, and the environment. Keeping in view the impact of the project on flora and fauna, additional mitigation measures such as Soil and Moisture Conservation works, Wildlife Management Plans, and Catchment Area Treatment (CAT) Plans are stipulated on a case-to-case basis, wherever necessary. Further, in accordance with the provisions of the Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006, wherever applicable, impact assessment studies are conducted prior to the grant of environmental clearance, on a case-to-case basis. *******Annexure-I Annexure referred to in reply of part (a) to (e) of Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No. 697 due for answer on 05.02.2026 asked by Smt. Renuka Chowdhury regarding ‘Permissions for tree felling and forest diversion’ Statement Showing Category wise area approved (in Ha.) by the Central Government for use of land non-forestry purpose under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 All State / UTs During the Period : 01.04.2020 to 31.03.2025 2020-2021 2021-2022 2022-2023 2023-2024 2024-2025 Grand Total S. Area Area Area Area Area Area Category No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. Diverted Diverted Diverted Diverted Diverted Diverted Proposals Proposals Proposals Proposals Proposals Proposals (in Ha.) (in Ha.) (in Ha.) (in Ha.) (in Ha.) (in Ha.) 1 Airport 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 1 0.09 1 0.09 2 Canal 2 5.89 1 6.88 2 3.02 3 2.70 17 61.59 25 80.09 Communication 3 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 38 2.86 288 7.18 326 10.05 Post 4 Defence 4 2588.91 15 392.61 15 254.19 31 2288.51 32 444.38 97 5968.61 5 Dispensary/Hospital 1 0.85 2 11.02 4 6.81 3 10.76 1 1.06 11 30.51 6 Drinking Water 20 446.84 14 39.76 18 92.53 28 139.70 55 242.11 135 960.93 7 Encroachments 0 0.00 0 0.00 1 8.38 0 0.00 0 0.00 1 8.38 Exploration & 8 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 2 0.00 11 0.00 13 0.00 Survey Forest Village 9 3 210.00 6 298.27 2 394.80 1 166.00 2 293.64 14 1362.71 Conversion 10 Hydel / Irrigation 32 2126.82 38 2006.12 33 2480.65 34 8112.25 31 2689.78 168 17415.62 11 Industry 3 43.27 4 31.96 6 5.93 7 25.26 9 44.01 29 150.43 12 Mining / Quarrying 27 2396.21 37 3938.61 32 3573.97 52 5611.24 41 3392.74 189 18912.77 Non-Conventional 13 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 4 5.83 4 5.83 Source of Energy 14 Optical Fibre Cable 1 0.32 3 0.44 2 0.86 19 10.05 43 31.44 68 43.12 15 Petrol Pumps 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 88 9.77 174 31.91 262 41.68 16 Pipeline 8 21.99 30 49.81 25 122.43 113 127.27 134 135.80 310 457.29Police Establishment 17 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 1 0.93 1 0.93 (identified by MHA) 18 Power Sub Station 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 1 36.00 1 2.00 2 38.00 Power 19 91 2258.62 132 2708.08 79 1994.00 110 1951.07 148 3813.86 560 12725.63 Transmission Line 20 Railway 26 1049.62 43 1169.13 55 1700.46 29 284.78 24 1752.98 177 5956.96 Re-Diversion/Land 21 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 16 0.00 16 0.00 Use Change 22 Rehabilitation 3 42.50 7 86.90 3 75.11 4 833.45 5 470.59 22 1508.55 23 Road 425 5007.10 637 4886.65 633 4499.24 572 3729.21 407 3571.54 2674 21693.73 School / 24 Educational 1 0.01 1 36.98 5 6.23 8 12.32 14 26.23 29 81.78 Institution 25 Solar Power 0 0.00 1 1.00 0 0.00 1 0.47 0 0.00 2 1.47 26 Sub Station 4 37.74 3 1.89 2 0.86 3 5.78 8 19.02 20 65.29 Telecommunication 27 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 9 0.59 0 0.00 9 0.59 Line 28 Thermal 1 38.10 0 0.00 0 0.00 1 0.95 0 0.00 2 39.05 29 Village Electricity 2 2.19 13 373.16 3 116.59 1 5.83 1 0.64 20 498.40 Water / Rainwater 30 Harvesting 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 1 0.39 1 0.39 Structure 31 Wind Power 1 0.30 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 1 0.30 32 Others 167 1267.06 226 680.91 170 659.60 195 497.02 241 899.10 999 4003.68 Grand Total 822 17544.35 1213 16720.15 1090 15995.67 1353 23863.83 1710 17938.85 6188 92062.85 ******