Kashmir Impulse Desk
Srinagar, Aug 16
Jammu and Kashmir has received approval for the diversion of 1086.01 hectares of forest land for non-forestry use over the past three years and the current financial year through August 6, 2026, the Centre told the Rajya Sabha.
The area represents 1.31 percent of the 82,817.92 hectares of forest land cleared for non-forestry purposes across India during the period.
Jammu and Kashmir’s figure was substantially higher than the 3.98 hectares approved for diversion in neighbouring Ladakh.
Among states, Madhya Pradesh recorded the largest area of forest land approved for diversion at 22,027.02 hectares, followed by Odisha at 10,098.99 hectares and Arunachal Pradesh at 7828.31 hectares.
Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Kirti Vardhan Singh said proposals for forest-land diversion were examined on a case-by-case basis, taking into account their potential effects on forests, wildlife and the wider environment.
Forest land could be diverted only when considered “unavoidable and site-specific”, with the government limiting the area to the “bare minimum required for a project”, Singh said.
Approvals are subject to mitigation and compensatory measures, including compensatory afforestation, payment of Net Present Value, soil and moisture conservation and wildlife and catchment-area treatment measures wherever applicable.
The government said the Forest Survey of India conducts a biennial assessment of forest cover using remote sensing technology supported by intensive ground verification.
The India State of Forest Report 2023 estimated India’s forest cover at 715,342.61 sq km, equivalent to 21.76 percent of the country’s geographical area.
The figure was 156.41 sq km higher than the 2021 assessment.
The Centre said prior approval requirements and prescribed mitigation measures were intended to minimise the ecological impact of projects that require the use of forest land.
