(a) whether the Government has any plan to increase tree plantation in the country including Gujarat;
(b) if so, the details thereof, State-wise;
(c) whether the Government has achieved the target of covering 33 percent of its geographical area under forest cover;
(d) if so, the details thereof, State-wise; and
(e) if not, the reasons therefor?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
(SHRI BABUL SUPRIYO)
(a) & (b) Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) implements various schemes for increasing tree plantation and afforestation in the country including Gujarat. National Afforestation Programme (NAP) for tree plantation in degraded forests through people’s participation and National Mission for a Green India (GIM), which aims to increase forest & tree cover on landscape basis, are the two majorcentrally sponsored afforestation schemes of the ministry.An area over 2 million ha.has been afforested with an investment of about Rs.3874croreunder NAP since its launching year 2000. The State-wise funds released during the last three years under NAP and GIM is given in the Annexure-I. The ministry also supports school nursery and urban forestry programmaes. The fund under Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), interalia, is also used in plantation activity including compensatory afforestation. Besides, afforestation being the multi-departmental effort, is also taken up under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP), which from 2015-16 has been amalgamated as the Watershed Development Component of the “Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY)” National Bamboo Mission and various State Plan & Non-Plan Schemes.
(c) to (e) As per the India State of Forest Report (ISFR), 2017 a biennial report by Forest Survey of India (FSI) of this ministry, the total forest and tree cover in the country is 24.39% of the geographical area of the country. There is an increase of 8021 square kilometer (forest cover 6778 square kilometer, tree cover 1243 square kilometer) of total forest and tree cover compared to that of ISFR-2015. The state/UT wise forest and tree cover is given in Annexure II.
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