New Delhi: According to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav's Monday statement in Lok Sabha, approximately three lakh hectares of forest land in India has been diverted for non-forestry use in the previous 15 years, in violation of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
Since 2008-09, 61,318 hectares of forest land in Punjab have been diverted for non-forestry activities, the most of any state or union territory. There are currently forests covering 1,84,700 hectares in Punjab.
The largest amount of forest land converted to non-forest uses was in Madhya Pradesh (40,627 ha), followed by Odisha (28,320 ha), Telangana (19,419 ha), and Gujarat (16,070 ha).—Inputs from Agencies