Punjab has seen a modest decrease in its forest cover over the past four years, despite a significant uptick in compensatory afforestation efforts. According to recent data released by the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, the state’s forest area has dropped by 2 square kilometers, from 1,849 sq km in 2019 to 1,847 sq km in 2021.
The latest figures, presented in Parliament, reveal that compensatory afforestation—planting trees to offset forest land diverted for non-forest uses—has been on the rise in Punjab. Following a dramatic plunge in compensatory afforestation from 1,321.98 hectares in 2019-20 to just 311.978 hectares in 2020-21, the state has progressively increased its afforestation efforts. In the subsequent years, compensatory planting expanded to 644.995 hectares in 2021-22, 800.383 hectares in 2022-23, and reached 940.384 hectares in 2023-24.
The increase in compensatory afforestation reflects the state’s commitment to mitigating the environmental impact of forest land being diverted. This land diversion is carried out under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, which governs forest conservation and related activities.
Despite these efforts, Punjab remains among the top states for forest land diversion proposals. Since 2019, the state has submitted 1,073 proposals for forest land diversion—ranking it third nationally after Gujarat and Haryana. Approval has been granted for the diversion of 1,912 hectares in Punjab alone. Nationally, a total of 8,731 proposals for forest land diversion were made, with 95,724.99 hectares approved across all states and Union Territories.
In contrast to Punjab’s situation, the overall forest cover in India has shown a slight increase from 7,12,249 sq km in 2019 to 7,13,789 sq km in 2021. However, 12 states and Union Territories reported decreases in their forest cover during this period.
The increasing compensatory afforestation efforts in Punjab highlight the state’s ongoing commitment to balancing development needs with environmental conservation, even as challenges persist in maintaining and expanding its forest cover.
