NEW DELHI: The state of Meghalaya has lost around 71 sq km of forest cover. This has been revealed by the biannual survey of the Forest Survey of India on Friday.
Moreover, forest cover in the entire Northeastern region, barring Manipur, has decreased for the first time, ringing alarm bells in the country, the report said.
The forest cover in the rest of the country, however, has increased.
The report revealed that the Northeastern region, considered to be one of the 18 “hot spots of the country and last vestige of hope for environment”, lost as much as 628 sq km of forest area. Much of the loss has been observed in dense forest areas, which is quite alarming, the report said.
The maximum loss was reported from the state of Mizoram (306 sq km) followed by Arunachal Pradesh (73 sq km), Nagaland (78 sq km), Meghalaya (71 sq km), Tripura (55 sq km), Assam (48 sq km) and Sikkim (1 sq km). Only Manipur gained 4 sq km, the report released by the Minister for Environment and Forest, Prakash Javadekar said.
“The current assessment shows an actual decrease of forest cover to the extent of 628 sq km in the North Eastern region,” the report stated.
The main reason for the decline is attributed to the biotic pressure and shifting cultivation in the region, it added.
The country as a whole has 7, 01673 sq km of forest cover which is an increase of 3,775 sq km compared to 2013 assessment. In the hill districts there is a net increase of forest cover by 1680 sq km and in the tribal districts the increase is 438 sq km, the report said.
