The forest and tree cover in India has risen by 2,261 square kilometres in the last two years, according to the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021, which showed Andhra Pradesh had grown the maximum forest cover of 647sqkm.

The biennial report by the Forest Survey of India (FSI), which is an assessment of the country’s forest resources, was released on Thursday by Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav, who revealed that the forest cover had grown by 1,540sqkm and the tree cover by 721sqkm over the 2019 figures.

“It is very satisfying to know that the tree and forest cover has increased in India. The report also touches on aspects that are important in terms of climate change,” Yadav said.

The minister stressed the need for generous tree plantation by the private sector “to reduce the burden on our forests”.

According to the report, the country’s total forest and tree cover is now spread across 80.9 million hectares, which is 24.62 per cent of the geographical area of the country.

The top five states in terms of increase in forest cover are Andhra Pradesh (647sqkm), Telangana (632sqkm), Odisha (537sqkm), Karnataka (155sqkm) and Jharkhand (110sqkm).

In terms of area, Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover in the country followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra.

In terms of forest cover as a percentage of total geographical area, the top five states are Mizoram (84.53 per cent), Arunachal Pradesh (79.33 per cent), Meghalaya (76 per cent), Manipur (74.34 per cent) and Nagaland (73.90 per cent).

However, the total forest cover in the northeastern states has reduced by 1,020sqkm in the last two years, the report added.