Forest Area Encroached In 25 States, UTs; 10 States Yet To Submit Data On Encroachments: Govt Report
Forest Area Encroached In 25 States, UTs; 10 States Yet To Submit Data On
Encroachments: Govt Report
ETV Bharat
April 1, 2025
Over 13,000 sq km of forest area, more than the total geographical area of
Delhi, Sikkim, and Goa combined, is under encroachment in 25 states and
Union Territories that have submitted data to the Union Environment
Ministry so far. Ten states are yet to submit data on forest encroachments.
Last year, the National Green Tribunal took suo motu cognisance of a PTI
report that cited government data showing that 7,50,648 hectares (or
7,506.48 sq km) of forest area -- more than five times the size of Delhi --
was under encroachment in India. In April last year, the NGT had directed
the ministry to compile the details of encroachment of forest areas in all
states and Union Territories in a prescribed format.
In a report submitted to the NGT last week, the ministry said that as of
March 2024, a total of 13,05,668.1 hectares (or 13,056 sq km) of forest
area was under encroachment in 25 states and UTs that have provided data so
far.
These states and UTs are Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Assam, Arunachal
Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Dadar & Nagar and Daman
& Diu, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Maharashtra, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Tamil
Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Sikkim Madhya
Pradesh, Mizoram and Manipur.
States and UTs, which are still to submit the data and details on forest
encroachment, are Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan,Telangana,
West Bengal, Nagaland, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Forest area or
The Recorded Forest Area (RFA) includes land officially designated as
forest by the government, even if it does not have tree cover.
RFA is further divided into three categories: reserved forests, which have
full protection, with activities like hunting and grazing generally banned;
protected forests, where some activities are allowed unless specifically
restricted; and unclassed forests, which are not classified as reserved or
protected.
This is different from forest cover which refers to the actual area with
tree canopy (more than 1 hectare with tree canopy density of at least 10
per cent), regardless of legal status. Forest cover includes forests inside
and outside recorded forest areas, such as plantations, community forests
and private lands with tree growth.
According to the ministry's report, Madhya Pradesh had the highest forest
encroachment among all states and UTs, with 5,460.9 sq km affected as of
March 2024. Assam has 3,620.9 sq km of forest area under encroachment.
A total of 863.08 sq km of forest land in Karnataka is under encroachment,
followed by 575.54 sq km in Maharashtra, 534.9 sq km in Arunachal Pradesh,
405.07 sq km in Odisha, 264.97 sq km in Uttar Pradesh, 247.72 sq km in
Mizoram, 200.40 sq km in Jharkhand and 168.91 sq km in Chhattisgarh.
Tamil Nadu has 157.68 sq km of encroached forest land, Andhra Pradesh
133.18 sq km, Gujarat 130.08 sq km, Punjab 75.67 sq km, Uttarakhand 49.92
sq km and Kerala 49.75 sq km, 42.42 sq km in Tripura, 37.42 sq km in the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands and 32.7 sq km in Manipur.
The ministry's report said that encroachment has been removed from 409.77
sq km of forest land so far. However, it is unclear whether this area was
excluded from the total forest land under encroachment as of March 2024.
The ministry informed the NGT that it had asked states to submit data
through letters sent on May 1, May 17 and May 28 last year. States and UTs
were also reminded multiple times over the phone and a meeting was held
with them on November 11.
The ministry sent further reminder letters on February 22 and March 26 this
year, asking the remaining states and UTs to provide the information in a
tabulated format.