Jammu and Kashmir has recorded an increase of 398.12 square kilometres in forest cover over the past decade, taking its total forest area to 21,346.39 sq km as per the India State of Forest Report 2023, data presented in Parliament has revealed.
The information was shared in a written reply by Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Kirti Vardhan Singh, in response to a Lok Sabha question on July 21, 2025.
According to the reply, Jammu and Kashmir’s forest cover was 20,948.27 sq km in 2013, which grew to 21,346.39 sq km by 2023.
The Union Territory also registered an increase between 2019 and 2023, with forest cover rising from 21,122 sq km to 21,346.39 sq km, marking a gain of over 224 sq km in just four years.
The overall increase in forest cover at the national level has been 16,630.25 sq km over the decade, while India’s current total forest cover stands at 7,15,342.61 sq km, which is 21.76% of the country’s geographical area.
The Ministry said that India’s forest cover assessments are carried out biennially by the Forest Survey of India, through remote sensing backed by intensive ground verification and field surveys under the National Forest Inventory.
To augment forest and tree cover, the Centre has launched multiple green initiatives such as National Mission for a Green India, Forest Fire Prevention and Management Scheme, Nagar Van Yojana, Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes and Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority.
The schemes have helped states, including Jammu and Kashmir, in afforestation, landscape restoration, soil and water conservation, and habitat improvement.
The government also said that afforestation efforts in the Union Territories, including Jammu and Kashmir, are further supported through CAMPA funding, which assists in forest protection and ecological restoration both inside and outside designated forest areas.
As per the National Forest Policy of 1988, the Centre aims to have at least 33% of the geographical area under forest or tree cover, and two-thirds in hilly regions such as Jammu and Kashmir.(KNS)
