Vijayawada MP Kesineni Sivanath, also known as Chinni, revealed that 1,04,396 trees have been illegally cut down in Andhra Pradesh over the past five years. (Photo: DC)
Vijayawada: Vijayawada MP Kesineni Sivanath, also known as Chinni, revealed that 1,04,396 trees have been illegally cut down in Andhra Pradesh over the past five years. He cited a response from the Union Government regarding his inquiry into tree felling.
During a Lok Sabha session on Monday, Union minister for environment, forests and climate change Bhupender Yadav provided details on the extent of illegal tree cutting in the state. According to Yadav, the highest number of illegal tree felling occurred in Annamayya district, with 27,178 trees cut, followed by 25,953 trees in BR Ambedkar Konaseema district.
The Union minister also reported a reduction in Andhra Pradesh's forest area by 769.66 hectares over the last five years, with Guntur district experiencing the largest decrease of 165.07 hectares.
In contrast, the forest area in Alluri Sitaramaraju district has diminished to just 2.24 hectares. Yadav announced the launch of the "Trees Out of Forests in India" (TOFI) programme, which is being implemented in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Haryana, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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