UT, Panchkula forest cover up, Mohali’s shrinks
🔴 The report states that Chandigarh's forest cover increased from 19.32 per cent (2019) to 20.07 per cent (2021) of the total geographical area (114sqkm).
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Interestingly, the moderate dense forest area in Chandigarh decreased from 14.24 square kilometres (2019) to 13.51 square kilometres (2021). (Representational)The forest cover area in Chandigarh and Panchkula has increased since 2019 but has decreased in the neighbouring district Mohali. This data was released in the Indian State of Forest Report (ISFR)-2021.
The report states that Chandigarh’s forest cover increased from 19.32 per cent (2019) to 20.07 per cent (2021) of the total geographical area (114sqkm). Panchkula’s forest cover increased from 43.51 per cent (2019) to 43.66 per cent (2021) of its total geographical area (898sqkm). Interestingly, the moderate dense forest area in Chandigarh decreased from 14.24 square kilometres (2019) to 13.51 square kilometres (2021).
Contrary to this, Mohali has witnessed a 0.03 per cent decrease in its total forest cover area between 2019 and 2021. In 2019, Mohali had 12.86 per cent forest cover while in 2021 it recorded only 12.83 per cent.
The ISFR report suggests that the forest cover of Mohali has been decreasing since 2017. The forest cover had dropped by 1.27 square kilometres between 2017 and 2019.
The report also suggests that Panchkula has since a decline in forest cover between 2017 and 2019.
The Forest Survey of India (FSI) conducts the forest survey using all modern techniques every two years.
Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) of Chandigarh, Abdul Qayum, said, “The forest cover area included very dense forest, moderately dense forest and open forest along with tree cover outside the forest area. The increased forest cover of Chandigarh, which is now more than 50 per cent, is the result of joint efforts of organizations including educational institutes, NGOs etc.”
However, Likhma Ram Budaniya, who works in the field of tree plantation, raised some concerns. He said, “The forest cover, tree cover and tree plantation drives are different things. The UT forest department is always reluctant to share the figures of planted saplings, and how many of these saplings survive later. The ISFR states that the moderate dense forest area in Chandigarh has decreased, which is a matter of concern.”
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