007. The Vanishing Canopy – India’s Alarming Forest Encroachment Crisis 🌳
Environment, Geography, Governance, Biodiversity
By IAS Monk / April 2, 2025
📏 The Scale of Encroachment
As of March 2024, 13,056 sq. km of forest land has been illegally encroached across 25 Indian states/UTs.
That’s more land than Delhi, Sikkim, and Goa combined.
🏞️ Top Encroached States
| State | Encroached Area (sq. km) |
|---|---|
| Madhya Pradesh | 5,460.9 |
| Assam | 3,620.9 |
| Karnataka | Significant |
| Maharashtra | Significant |
| Others | Arunachal, Odisha, UP, Mizoram, Jharkhand |
10 states/UTs have yet to submit data (e.g., Telangana, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Delhi, Ladakh)
🌳 Forest Categories in India
- Reserved Forests – Strict protection; no activity allowed
- Protected Forests – Some activities permitted
- Unclassed Forests – Often community-managed or state-owned, limited protection
Encroachment spans across all categories—especially unclassed and protected forests.
🛠️ Government Action
- 409.77 sq. km reclaimed
- Ministry has issued multiple reminders & meetings
- Reporting gaps persist across several states
⚠️ Environmental Consequences
- Loss of biodiversity
- Disrupted ecosystems
- Climate change acceleration
- Loss of tribal and rural livelihoods
Forests are not just green—they are carbon sinks, seed vaults, and season sculptors.
📚 Relevance for UPSC
- GS3: Environment, Forest Governance, Biodiversity
- GS1: Geography – Land Use Patterns
- Essay: “When forests fall silently, the nation stumbles noiselessly.”
✨ Closing Whisper
“To encroach a forest is to erase a future—leaf by leaf, root by root.”
🔥 A Thought Spark – by IAS Monk
This is not just a number—it is a warning etched in dry soil and hollowed bark.
Every square kilometre lost is a poem unwritten, a rainfall undelivered, a village left bare.
The forest remembers. Will we?
