The ‘Ped Lagao-Ped Bachao Jan Abhiyan,’ a campaign led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for the past seven and a half years, has yielded remarkable results.
According to the ISFR 2023 report, Uttar Pradesh, which planted over 36.80 crore saplings in 2024, recorded an impressive increase of more than 559 sq km in forest and tree cover. This achievement places Uttar Pradesh second only to Chhattisgarh, surpassing all other states in forest cover growth.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has congratulated the Forest Department officials and employees for their dedicated efforts in this initiative. Union Forest and Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav also lauded UP for this significant accomplishment, commending the state’s commitment to environmental conservation.
According to the India Forest Status Report (ISFR) 2023 report, presented in Dehradun on Saturday, India’s total forest and tree cover now spans 8,27,357 sq km, which constitutes 25.17 per cent of the country’s geographical area. This includes 7,15,343 sq km (21.76 per cent ) of forest cover and 1,12,014 sq km (3.41 per cent ) of tree cover.
There has been an increase of 1,445 sq km in forest and tree cover as compared to the shape-file-based assessment of 2021, which includes an increase of 156 sq km in forest cover and 1289 sq km in tree cover.
The report says among the top states demonstrating the most significant growth in forest and tree cover, UP ranks second. Chhattisgarh leads with an increase of 684 sq km, followed by Odisha (558.57 sq km), Rajasthan (394 sq km), and Jharkhand (286.96 sq km).
Chief Minister Adityanath posted on his social media account ‘X’ to celebrate Uttar Pradesh’s remarkable achievement in forest and tree cover. He wrote that the state is swiftly progressing towards becoming ‘Green Uttar Pradesh.’
According to the ISFR 2023 report, the historic increase of 559 sq km in forest and tree cover is a direct result of the people of Uttar Pradesh responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call, ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam,’ and embracing the Indian philosophy of ‘Mata Bhoomi: Putrohaam Prithviyah.’
The Chief Minister extended hearty congratulations to all those involved in the plantation campaign, nature enthusiasts, and the people of Uttar Pradesh for this historic accomplishment, which he described as a significant contribution to the welfare of humanity.
Uttar Pradesh has set a new record by planting more than 36.80 crore saplings by September 30, 2024. This follows the historic achievement of planting 36.51 crore saplings in a single day on July 20, 2024. Over the past seven and a half years, the state has successfully planted 210 crore saplings, marking a significant milestone in its environmental efforts.
On examining the report published by the Indian Forest Survey, Dehradun in the year 2023, the status of forest cover in Uttar Pradesh is as follows: Very dense forest 2,688.73 sq km, Medium dense forest 4,001.41 sq km, Open forest 8,355.66 sq km, Total 15045.80 sq km (6.24per cent), Tree cover 8950.92 sq km (3.72per cent) and total forest cover and tree cover 23996.72 sq km (9.96per cent).
The fiv districts of UP with the highest growth are : Jhansi – 8597 acres, Amroha – 7769 acres, Etawah – 7127 acres, Kanpur Nagar – 6249 acres and Bijnor – 3343 acres.
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