GB Nagar loses forest cover, Gzb sees slim rise: FSI report

The state of Uttar Pradesh in the Forest Survey of India's (FSI) "State of Forest (SFR) - 2023" report has shown a rise of 559.19 square kilometers (sq km) in combined forest and tree cover.

- Peeyush Khandelwal

GHAZIABAD: However, its NCR city of Ghaziabad showed a slim increase of 0.03% while Gautam Budh Nagar showed a decline of 0.05% in forest area as compared to the previous assessment in 2021.

The report released on Saturday states that Chhattisgarh witnessed a maximum increase in combined forest and tree cover with 684 sq km, and Uttar Pradesh stands in the second place with its 559 sq km area being under the same cover.

The FSI has defined the forest cover as "All lands, more than or equal to one hectare in area, with a tree canopy of more than or equal to 10%, irrespective of ownership and legal status; and includes orchards, bamboo, and palm".

The 2023 FSI report states that Gautam Budh Nagar district having a geographical area of 1,441.86 sq km, includes 22.77 sq km or about 1.58% of the total under forest cover. The previous 2021 FSI report had indicated the district having geographical area of 1,282 sq km includes 20 sq km or 1.56% of forest cover.

The 2019 report had also stated that the district's geographical area of 1,282 sq km had a forest cover of 20 sq km, about 1.56% of that area.

The latest report states that the district showed -0.05% decline in forest cover as compared to the 2021 assessment.