Chandigarh: Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradeshtogether secured approval to divert 2,734.2 hectares of forest land for non-forest use between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2026, the Centre informed the Lok Sabha.Himachal Pradesh accounted for the largest share at 1,510 hectares, followed by Punjab (677.3 ha) and Haryana (546.9 ha). Chandigarh recorded a diversion of another 0.24 hectare.The four together accounted for nearly 3.9% of the 71,023.3 hectares of forest land cleared for diversion nationwide under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980.The data was shared by Union minister of state for environment, forest and climate change Kirti Vardhan Singh in response to a question by Congress MP Varun Chaudhary.Across the country, mining and quarrying accounted for the largest share of diverted forest land at 16,463.3 hectares, followed by hydel and irrigation projects (14,294.4 ha), roads (12,714.9 ha), power transmission and village electrification (7,711.5 ha), and defence projects (6,276 ha).The ministry said diversion approvals are subject to compensatory afforestation by the concerned state or Union Territory. It informed Parliament that more than 1,78,261.5 hectares have been brought under compensatory afforestation over the past five years, with reported survival rates ranging from 40% to 100%.On monitoring forest cover, the ministry said the Forest Survey of India carries out biennial assessments using multi-temporal satellite imagery backed by ground verification.
