Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh also informed the Lok Sabha that a total of 957.25 square kilometres of forest area has been diverted for non-forestry purposes.
Press Trust of India New Delhi
According to data presented in Parliament on Monday, India saw a massive 280 percent increase in the number of recommended projects in wildlife sanctuaries and national parks in 2023-24 as compared to 2022-23.
Indian Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh also informed the Lok Sabha that under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, a total of 957.25 square kilometres or 95,724.99 hectares of forest area have been released for non-forestry purposes over a period of five years from April 2019.
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The minister said that 71 project proposals for national parks and wildlife sanctuaries were approved across the country in the year 2019-20. The number was 85 in 2020-21, 154 in 2021-22, 150 in 2022-23 and increased to 421 in 2023-24.
Singh also informed that between April 1, 2019 and March 31, 2023, 8,731 applications for conversion of forest land were approved, resulting in a total area of 95,724.99 hectares reserved for non-forestry purposes.
Madhya Pradesh had the largest area of forest diverted for non-forestry purposes during this period at 22,614.74 hectares, followed by Odisha at 13,621.95 hectares, Arunachal Pradesh at 8,744.78 hectares, Gujarat at 7,402.97 hectares and Uttar Pradesh at 6,184.64 hectares.
Government data also showed that 179 mining projects were approved, resulting in the rezoning of a total of 18,922.98 hectares of forest land during this period.
It showed that in 2023-24, compensatory afforestation was increased to 29,440.39 hectares of land, the lowest in five years.
In comparison, 35,718.16 hectares of compensatory afforestation were undertaken in 2019-20, 36,000.59 hectares in 2020-21, 42,151.06 hectares in 2021-22 and 39,263.19 hectares in 2022-23.
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