MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS ( SHRI T.R. BAALU)
(a) According to State of Forest Report 1999, there are 333 districts in which forest cover is less than 30% and 120 districts in which forest cover is more than 30%. State-wise details of districts with more than and less than 30% forest cover are given in Annexure-.
(b) & (c) No, Sir. All proposals requiring diversion of forest land for non-forestry purposes are considered on merit alone and not on the extent of forest land available in a particular district. Some of the criteria for consideration of a proposal on merit are the site specificity of the project, benefit to the people and economy, adverse effects on the environment, national parks or Sanctuaries, extent of oustees from the project area and rehabilitation package thereof, etc. A scrutiny of irrigation projects received for clearance during 1997, 1998 & 1999 reveals that out of total of 228 projects only 23 proposals have been rejected so far including proposals from forest deficit State like Gujarat.
(d) & (e) No, Sir. The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 is applicable to all forest land irrespective of the extent of forests in a district. All proposals requiring diversion of forest land for non-forestry purposes, prior approval of the Central Government is mandatory. Any diversion of forest land for non-forestry purpose, whether in forest-rich district or otherwise is bound to have some adverse effect on the environment, unless adequate safeguards are taken some of which are mandated in the Act.
(f) &(g) No, Sir. The development activities have to be allowed in keeping with the needs of environmental security of the country. However, to expedite clearance of proposals for small utility works excluding mining and encroachment cases, which directly benefit the people of the area-in hill districts and in other districts having forest area exceeding 50% of the total geographical area, provided diversion of forest area does not exceed 20 hectares, compensatory afforestation may be raised over degraded forest land twice in extent of the forest area being diverted/dereserved.
ANNEXURE IN RESPECT OF PART (a) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO 2163 FOR 12.3.2001 REGARDING CLEARENCE OF PENDING PROJECTS
District wise details of forest cover as per State of Forest Report 1999
Districts with less than 30% forest cover
Sl. No. State Name of Dist % forest Sl. No.State Name of Dist % forest cover cover
1 Andhra Pradesh Nalgonda 0.8 48 Bihar Purnia 0.2
2 Andhra Pradesh Anantapur 2.2 49 Bihar Nalanda 1.2
3 Andhra Pradesh Krishna 3.0 50 Bihar Dhanbad 3.4
4 Andhra Pradesh Hyderabad 4.9 51 Bihar Bhagalpur 3.6
5 Andhra Pradesh &Ranga R 4.9 52 Bihar Aurangabad 3.8
6 Andhra Pradesh Medak 5.7 53 Bihar Gaya 9.6
7 Andhra Pradesh Srikakulam 7.1 54 Bihar Santhal Pargana 10.5
8 Andhra Pradesh Guntur 7.8 55 Bihar Munger 12.3
9 Andhra Pradesh Nellore 8.1 56 Bihar Champaran Paschim 15.4
10 Andhra Pradesh Vizianagaram 9.7 57 Bihar Nawada 18.8
11 Andhra Pradesh Mehboobnagar 10.6 58 Bihar Giridih 21
12 Andhra Pradesh West Godavari 11.4 59 Bihar Rohtas 21.9
13 Andhra Pradesh Kurnool 12.3 60 Bihar Ranchi 24.7
14 Andhra Pradesh Chittoor 12.5 61 Chandigarh 6.1
15 Andhra Pradesh Karimnagar 13.8 62 Daman & Diu Daman 1.4
16 Andhra Pradesh Nizamabad 15.9 63 Daman & Diu Diu 5.0
17 Andhra Pradesh Prakasham 17.9 64 Delhi 5.9
18 Andhra Pradesh Cuddapah 21.4 65 Gujrat Mehsana 0.4
19 Andhra Pradesh Warangal 24.5 66 Gujrat Kheda 0.6
20 Assam Nalbari 1.8 67 Gujrat Ahmedabad 0.6
21 Assam Darrang 4.3 68 Gujrat Rajkot 0.8
22 Assam Golaghat 6.7 69 Gujrat Surendernagar 0.9
23 Assam Lakhimpur 7.2 70 Gujrat Bhavnagar 1.3
24 Assam Barpate 8.2 71 Gujrat Gandhinagar 2
25 Assam Sibsagar 8.5 72 Gujrat Jamnagar 2.4
26 Assam Jorhat 8.7 73 Gujrat Amreli 2.8
27 Assam Dhubri 13 74 Gujrat Kachchh 4.7
28 Assam Somitnpur 14.3 75 Gujrat Banaskantha 5.9
29 Assam Golpara 14.4 76 Gujrat Vadodara 6.4
30 Assam Nawgaon 19.2 77 Gujrat Sabar Kantha 9.1
31 Assam Dibrugarh 19.4 78 Gujrat Panchmahals 11.3
32 Assam Cachar 27.9 79 Gujrat Bharuch 13.2
33 Bihar Begusarai 0.0 80 Gujrat Junagarh 15.6
34 Bihar Bhojpur 0.0 81 Gujrat Surat 16.9
35 Bihar Champaran 0.0 82 Gujrat Valsad 24.2
36 Bihar Darbhanga 0.0 83 H. P. Lahaul Spiti 1.1
37 Bihar Gopalganj 0.0 84 H. P. Kinnaur 10.1
38 Bihar Katihar 0.0 85 H. P. Hamirpur 16.8
39 Bihar Madhubani 0.0 86 H. P. Bilaspur 20.1
40 Bihar Muzaffarpur 0.0 87 H. P. Solan 25.4
41 Bihar Patna 0.0 88 H. P. Un a 27.1
42 Bihar Saharsa 0.0 89 H. P. Kangra 28.6
43 Bihar Samastipur 0.0 90 Haryana Sirsa 0.0
44 Bihar Saran 0.0 91 Haryana Jind 0.2
45 Bihar Siwan 0.0 92 Haryana Karnal 0.2
46 Bihar Sitamarhi 0.0 93 Haryana Hisar 0.2
47 Bihar Vaishali 0.0 94 Haryana Sonipat 0.3
Sl. No. State Name of Dist % forest Sl. No.State Name of Dist % forest cover cover
95 Haryana Rohtak 0.5 144 M.P. Vidisha 10.5
96 Haryana Bhiwani 0.6 145 M.P. Indore 11.6
97 Haryana Kurukshetra 1.1 146 M.P. Mandsaur 11.7
98 Haryana Mahendragarh 2.4 147 M.P. Jhabua 12.5
99 Haryana Faridabad 2.6 148 M.P. Nimar West 14.8
100 Haryana Gurgaon 8.9 149 M.P. Chattarpur 18
101 Haryana Ambala 12 150 M.P. Guna 19.1
102 J &K Ladakh 0.0 151 M.P. Jabalpur 19.5
103 J &K Gilgit 0.5 152 M.P. Sehore 19.9
104 J &K Gilgitwzart 4.2 153 M.P. Satna 21.5
105 J &K Chilas 17.4 154 M.P. Dewas 23.4
106 J &K Tribal Teritory 23.3 155 M.P. Shivpuri 23.4
107 J &K Jammu 25 156 M.P. Gwalior 25
108 J &K Baramula 26.7 157 M.P. Narsimhapur 25.9
109 Karala Alleppey 0.4 158 M.P. Sagar 26
110 Karala Kotayam 3.4 159 M.P. Raipur 29.3
111 Karala Ernakulam 11.3 160 M.P. Shahdol 29.9
112 Karala Trivendrum 18 161 Maharashtra Osmanabad 0.2
113 Karala Cannanore 18.2 162 Maharashtra Sholapur 0.2
114 Karala Kozhikode 18.2 163 Maharashtra Beed 0.5
115 Karala Wynad 18.2 164 Maharashtra Ahmednagar 1.0
116 Karala Malapuram 22.5 165 Maharashtra Parbhani 1.1
117 Karala Trichur 29 166 Maharashtra Bombay City 1.3
118 Karnataka Raichur 0.0 167 Maharashtra Sangli 1.6
119 Karnataka Bijapur 0.2 168 Maharashtra Aurangabad 2.9
120 Karnataka Bidar 0.8 169 Maharashtra Akola 5.7
121 Karnataka Gulbarga 1.6 170 Maharashtra Buldana 5.8
122 Karnataka Chitradurga 3.1 171 Maharashtra Nasik 6.4
123 Karnataka Tumkur 3.8 172 Maharashtra Satara 7.2
124 Karnataka Kolar 5.0 173 Maharashtra Pune 7.7
125 Karnataka Dharwad 5.3 174 Maharashtra Nanded 8.7
126 Karnataka Mandaya 5.3 175 Maharashtra Jalgaon 10
127 Karnataka Bellary 7.1 176 Maharashtra Wardha 13.3
128 Karnataka Belgaum 8.1 177 Maharashtra Dhule 14
129 Karnataka Bangalore 8.5 178 Maharashtra Bombay 17.7
130 Karnataka Hassan 15.2 179 Maharashtra Yavatmal 20.2
131 Karnataka Mysore 29 180 Maharashtra Nagpur 20.2
132 Lakshdweep 0.0 181 Maharashtra Kolhapur 21.8
133 M.P. Shajapur 0.0 182 Maharashtra Amravati 25.5
134 M.P. Ujjain 0.0 183 Maharashtra Thane 26.8
135 M.P. Rajgarh 1.8 184 Maharashtra Kolaba 29.3
136 M.P. Bhind 1.8 185 Manipur Bishmupur 1.0
137 M.P. Ratlam 3.8 186 Manipur Thoubal 2.4
138 M.P. Tikamgarh 4.6 187 Manipur Imphal 23.8
139 M.P. Datia 6.5 188 Orrissa Bhadrak 0.7
140 M.P. Dhar 7.8 189 Orrissa Jagatsinghpur 1.4
141 M.P. Durg 8.5 190 Orrissa Puri 4.1
142 M.P. Rewa 8.8 191 Orrissa Jajpur 6
143 M.P. Bhopal 10.3 192 Orrissa Kendarpara 7.8
Sl. No. State Name of Dist % forest Sl. No.State Name of Dist % forest cover cover
193 Orissa Baleshwar 8.4 242 Rajasthan Kota 13.4
194 Orissa Khurda 11 243 Rajasthan Alwar 13.4
195 Orissa Jharsguda 12.8 244 Rajasthan Chittaurgarh 14.7
196 Orissa Balangir 13.3 245 Rajasthan Sirohi 15.6
197 Orissa Sonepur 13.7 246 Rajasthan Udaipur 18.8
198 Orissa Cuttack 14.9 247 Sikkim North District 27.9
199 Orissa Bargarh 15.8 248 Tamil Nadu Madras 2.9
200 Orissa Koraput 17 249 Tamil Nadu Cchengal pattu 3.7
201 Orissa Kalahandi 22.9 250 Tamil Nadu Trichurapalli 3.9
202 Orissa Nawrangpur 23.1 251 Tamil Nadu Pudukkotai 3.9
203 Orissa Dhenkanal 23.1 252 Tamil Nadu Thanjavur 3.9
204 Orissa Ganjam 24.8 253 Tamil Nadu Ramanathpuram 4.2
205 Paondicherry Kkaraikal 0.0 254 Tamil Nadu Tirunelveli 8.6
206 Paondicherry Mahendragarh 0.0 255 Tamil Nadu Arcot south 9.2
207 Paondicherry Pondicherry 0.0 256 Tamil Nadu Salem 15
208 Paondicherry Yanam 0.0 257 Tamil Nadu Madurai 16.9
209 Punjab Jalandhar 0.1 258 Tamil Nadu Coimbatore 17.9
210 Punjab Ferozepur 0.1 259 Tamil Nadu Arcot north 18.4
211 Punjab Faridkot 0.1 260 Tamil Nadu Dharmapuri 23.5
212 Punjab Sangrur 0.2 261 Tamil Nadu Periyar 24.6
213 Punjab Amritsar 0.3 262 Tamil Nadu Kanyakumari 26.7
214 Punjab Kapurthala 0.4 263 Tripura South Tripura 27.9
215 Punjab Bhatinda 0.4 264 U.P. Ballia 0.0
216 Punjab Ludhiana 0.7 265 U.P. Mainpuri 0.0
217 Punjab Patiala 1.4 266 U.P. Bareilly 0.0
218 Punjab Gurdaspur 5.0 267 U.P. Ghazipur 0.0
219 Punjab Roopnagar 16.5 268 U.P. Aligarh 0.0
220 Punjab Hoshiarpur 18.9 269 U.P. Pratapgarh 0.1
221 Rajasthan Churu 0.1 270 U.P. Azamgarh 0.1
222 Rajasthan Ganganagar 0.1 271 U.P. Fatehpur 0.1
223 Rajasthan Barmer 0.2 272 U.P. Faizabad 0.1
224 Rajasthan Bikaner 0.2 273 U.P. Etah 0.1
225 Rajasthan Jaisalmer 0.2 274 U.P. Kanpur-Dehat 0.1
226 Rajasthan Jodhpur 0.3 275 U.P. Deoria 0.1
227 Rajasthan Nagaur 0.3 276 U.P. Jaunpur 0.1
228 Rajasthan Jalore 1.3 277 U.P. Farrukhabad 0.2
229 Rajasthan Sikar 1.3 278 U.P. Budaun 0.2
230 Rajasthan Jhunjhunun 1.5 279 U.P. Mau 0.2
231 Rajasthan Bhilwara 1.6 280 U.P. Sitapur 0.3
232 Rajasthan Tonk 1.6 281 U.P. Raibareilly 0.3
233 Rajasthan Ajmer 2 282 U.P. Sultanpur 0.3
234 Rajasthan Jaipur 3.4 283 U.P. Unnao 0.3
235 Rajasthan Jhalawar 4.8 284 U.P. Basti 0.3
236 Rajasthan Pali 5.0 285 U.P. Moradabad 0.4
237 Rajasthan Dungarpur 5.9 286 U.P. Hardoi 0.4
238 Rajasthan Banswara 6.9 287 U.P. Mathura 0.4
239 Rajasthan Bundi 7.5 288 U.P. Ghaziabad 0.4
240 Rajasthan Bharatpur 7.7 289 U.P. Kanpur-Nagar 0.5
241 Rajasthan Sawai Madhopur 12.1 290 U.P. Barabanki 0.5
Sl. State Name of % forestSl. State Name of % forest
No. District cover No. District cover
291 U.P. Bulandshahar 0.5 313 U.P. Mirzapur 16.2
292 U.P. Siddharthnagar 0.7 314 U.P. Kheri 17.1
293 U.P. Meerut 0.7 315 U.P. Pilibhit 20.2
294 U.P. Allahabad 0.7 316 U.P. Hardwar 24.8
295 U.P. Muzaffarnagar 0.8 317 West Bengal Calcutta 0.0
296 U.P. Lucknow 1.2 318 West Bengal Howrah 0.0
297 U.P. Firozabad 1.2 319 West Bengal Hoogli 0.0
298 U.P. Rampur 1.5 320 West Bengal Murshidabad 0.2
299 U.P. Shahjahanpur 2.2 321 West Bengal Maldah 0.2
300 U.P. Hamirpur 2.5 322 West Bengal Nadia 0.3
301 U.P. Jhansi 2.7 323 West Bengal Uttar Dinajpur 0.3
302 U.P. Jalaun 2.9 324 West Bengal Dakshin Dinajpur 0.5
303 U.P. Etawah 3.3 325 West Bengal 24 Parganas North 0.7
304 U.P. Agra 4.5 326 West Bengal Coochbehar 0.9
305 U.P. Bijnore 7.4 327 West Bengal Birbhum 1.3
306 U.P. Gorakhpur 7.5 328 West Bengal Bardhaman 2.9
307 U.P. Banda 7.9 329 West Bengal Purulia 9.7
308 U.P. Gonda 8.2 330 West Bengal Midinipur 9.9
309 U.P. Saharanpur 8.8 331 West Bengal Bankura 12.6
310 U.P. Varanasi 10.3 332 West Bengal 24 Pargana South 20.8
311 U.P. Lalitpur 10.7 333 West Bengal Jalpaiguri 25.4
312 U.P. Behraich 11.7
Districts with more than 30% forest cover
Sl. No State Name of Dist % forest Sl.No. State Name of Dist % forest cover cover
1 Andhra Pradesh Visakhapatam 30.8 49 Karnataka Kodagu 81.4
2 Andhra Pradesh East Godavari 33.0 50 M.P. Raisen 31.6
3 Andhra Pradesh Adilabad 37.1 51 M.P. Bilaspur 32.2
4 Andhra Pradesh Khammam 44.7 52 M.P. Nimar East 32.3
5 Aru Pradesh Tawang 56.9 53 M.P. Hoshangabad 33.0
6 Aru Pradesh Dibang Valley 70.6 54 M.P. Rajnandgaon 34.7
7 Aru Pradesh Lohit 74.8 55 M.P. Raigarh 35.3
8 Aru Pradesh Siang East 82 56 M.P. Betul 35.8
9 Aru Pradesh Upper Siang 83.8 57 M.P. Seoni 36.0
10 Aru Pradesh Changiong 84.8 58 M.P. Panna 38.1
11 Aru Pradesh Subansiri Upper 85.7 59 M.P. Sidhi 38.1
12 Aru Pradesh Kameng West 86.2 60 M.P. Morena 39.2
13 Aru Pradesh West Siang 87.3 61 M.P. Chhindwara 39.3
14 Aru Pradesh Tirap 88.3 62 M.P. Damoh 40.2
15 Aru Pradesh Subansiri Lower 90.3 63 M.P. Mandla 43.6
16 Aru Pradesh Kameng East 91.8 64 M.P. Balaghat 51.1
17 Aru Pradesh Papum Pare 93.5 65 M.P. Surguja 51.7
18 Assam Karimganj 30.2 66 M.P. Bastar 59.7
19 Assam Kamrup 35.0 67 Maharashtra Bhandara 30.9
20 Assam Kokrajhar 36.2 68 Maharashtra Ratnagiri 43.5
21 Assam North Cachar hills 59.7 69 Maharashtra Chandrapur 53.6
22 Assam Karbi Anglong 87.8 70 Manipur Senapati 70.1
23 Bihar Singhbhum 33.7 71 Manipur Ukhrul 79.7
24 Bihar Palamu 37.6 72 Manipur Chandel 86.5
25 Bihar Hazaribagh 42.8 73 Manipur Chandpur 90.7
26 Dadra & Nagar Haveli 41.1 74 Manipur Tamci 99.2
27 Goa North Goa & 33.8 75 Meghalaya Jaintia Hills 52.5
28 Goa South Goa 33.8 76 Meghalaya E Khasi Hills 66.1
29 Gujrat The Dangs 85.3 77 Meghalaya W Khasi Hills 71.3
30 H. P. Chamba 35.2 78 Meghalaya W Garo Hills 72.3
31 H. P. Kullu 35.9 79 Meghalaya E Garo Hills 93.4
32 H. P. Mandi 39 80 Mizoram Chhimtuipui 79.5
33 H. P. Sirmaur 39.2 81 Mizoram Lunglei 87.7
34 H. P. Shimla 46.6 82 Mizoram Aizwal 89.1
35 J &K Anantnag 30.5 83 Nagaland Tuensang 79.4
36 J &K Udhampur 32.7 84 Nagaland Mokokchung 82.8
37 J &K Punch 32.7 85 Nagaland Phek 83.7
38 J &K Mirpur 35.4 86 Nagaland Mon 84.4
39 J &K Kathua 40.5 87 Nagaland Kohima 88.4
40 J &K Muzaffarabad 41.9 88 Nagaland Zunheboto 88.8
41 J &K Riasi 48.3 89 Nagaland Wokha 97
42 Karala Palaghat 31 90 Orissa Nawapara 33.7
43 Karala Quilon 49 91 Orissa Rayagada 35.6
44 Karala Idukki 50.1 92 Orissa Malkangiri 36.9
45 Karnataka Kannada Dakshina 43.2 93 Orissa Mayurbhanj 37.8
46 Karnataka Chikmagulur 46.2 94 Orissa Boudh 38.1
47 Karnataka Shimoga 46.4 95 Orissa Nayagarh 38.7
48 Karnataka Kannada 75.8 96 Orissa Angul 40.3
Sl. No. State Name of Dist % forest Sl.No. State Name of Dist % forest cover cover
97 Orissa Sundergarh 41.3 109 U.P. Pithoragarh 34.0
98 Orissa Keonjhar 42.7 110 U.P. Chamoli 34.5
99 Orissa Sambalpur 47.4 111 U.P. Sonbhadra 36.0
100 Orissa Deogarh 49.6 112 U.P. Uttar Kashi 38.7
101 Orissa Gajpati 63.5 113 U.P. Almora 47.1
102 Orissa Phulbani 66.9 114 U.P. Dehradun 50.8
103 Sikkim East District 64.6 115 U.P. Nainital 52.5
104 Sikkim West District 66.3 116 U.P. Tehri Garhwal 57.9
105 Sikkim South District 73.3 117 U.P. Garhwal 58.4
106 Tamil Nadu Nilgiri 61.6 118 W.Bengal Darjeeling 46.2
107 Tripura North Tripura 67.5 119 A &N Nicobars 87
108 Tripura West Tripura 70.3 120 A &N Andamans 93.9
