Hyderabad: In the India State of Forest Report, 2017 released by the Union government on Monday, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are listed as among the top five states to have increased their green cover.
Andhra Pradesh tops the list with an increase of 2,141 sq km. Telangana is fifth with an increase of 565 sq km. TS’ green cover scheme might have something to do with these results, as the third drive of Haritha Haram was held successfully this year. The report is released once every two years.
P. Srinivasa Rao, senior officer in the forest department, says, “Our efforts to ensure that trees outside forest areas are also taken care of has helped because our green cover has definitely increased.”
R. K. Dobriyal, additional principal chief conservator of forests says, “We have begun replanting saplings that died in the first two drives. It is not an overnight process but after the division of the state, we made sure that our forest cover does not drastically decrease.”
Overall, India’s forest and tree cover has increased by one per cent or 8,021 sq km in two years.
India’s total forest cover is 7,08,273 sq km, which is 21.54 per cent of the total geographical area of the country.
