- 2012 – 25,218 hectares
- 2013 – 41,716 hectares
- 2014 – 32,168 hectares – As on 1st December, 2014
To understand the magnitude of this, remember 1 hectare is as big as a cricket ground. It is like diverting the forest land equal to 99102 cricket fields.
The top offenders in terms of the number of square kilometers of forest cover that saw a significant reduction are
| State | Reduced Forest Cover (in Sq KM) |
|---|---|
| Kerala | -112117 |
| Madhya Pradesh | -58019 |
| Uttar Pradesh | -16877 |
| Andhra Pradesh | -3457 |
| Odisha | -2906 |
| Nagaland | -1350 |
| A&N Islands | -890 |
| Manipur | -485 |
| Dadar & Nagar Haveli | -25 |
There is also some good news. Between 1987 & 2013, the forest cover also saw a significant addition, of almost 97216 square kilometers. The top performers here are in the table below. However, the total area that was reduced is almost twice during the same period.
| State | Increased Forest Cover (in Sq KM) |
|---|---|
| Karnataka | 25840 |
| West Bengal | 8373 |
| Tamil Nadu | 6372 |
| Maharashtra | 5016 |
| Rajasthan | 3328 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 3189 |
| Gujarat | 2662 |
| Assam | 2511 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 2203 |
| Tripura | 1913 |
These numbers are telling a story, a very poignant story and when this is put in the context of number of natural disasters that India had seen during the same time, may be the math adds up – the question that it raises is if the cost of development is affordable and if this is the development that we seek?
We would like to hear what you think?
Data Source: Reply to Question No 3710 in Lok Sabha dated 16th December 2014 & Forest Survey of India (FSI)
Featured Image: Srinivas Kompally | Forest
