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MoEFCC Report Reveals Over 13,000 sq km of Forest Encroached Across India as of March 2024 and Madhya Pradesh Tops the List.

National | Dated: 04 Apr 2025

In March 2024, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) submitted a detailed report to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), revealing that a total of 13,056 square kilometers (sq km) or 13,05,668.1 hectares of forest land across 25 States and Union Territories (UTs) in India was under encroachment.

🎯 Key Highlights:

  • - This reflects a significant rise from the 7,506.48 sq km reported as encroached forest area in April 2023.
  • - Madhya Pradesh (MP) topped the list with the highest forest encroachment, amounting to 5,460.9 sq km, followed by Assam at 3,620.9 sq km.
  • - Other significantly affected states include Arunachal Pradesh (AR) with 534.9 sq km, Odisha with 405.07 sq km, Uttar Pradesh (UP) with 264.97 sq km, Mizoram with 247.72 sq km, Jharkhand with 200.40 sq km, and Chhattisgarh with 168.91 sq km.

💡 Other Important Facts:

  • (i) Additional states impacted are Tamil Nadu (TN) with 157.68 sq km, Andhra Pradesh (AP) with 133.18 sq km, Gujarat with 130.08 sq km, Punjab with 75.67 sq km, Uttarakhand with 49.92 sq km, Kerala with 49.75 sq km, Tripura with 42.42 sq km, Andaman & Nicobar (A&N) Islands with 37.42 sq km, and Manipur with 32.7 sq km.
  • (ii) Data from 10 States and UTs is still pending. These include Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh (HP), Rajasthan, Telangana, West Bengal (WB), Nagaland, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), and Ladakh.
  • (iii) Recorded Forest Area (RFA) refers to land officially classified as forest by the Government of India under the Indian Forest Act, 1927, irrespective of actual tree cover. RFA is categorized into Reserved Forests (RF) with full protection and restricted activities; Protected Forests (PF) where certain activities are permitted unless restricted; and Unclassed Forests, which are not designated as reserved or protected.

📚 Test Your Knowledge:

Recently, which state has reported the highest forest encroachment in India, according to the MoEFCC report submitted to the NGT in March 2024?

Correct Answer: Madhya Pradesh

🚀 Quick Recap:

About Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC)

  • Union Minister : Bhupender Yadav
  • Headquarters : New Delhi