Haryana has pipped Punjab in taking the dubious distinction of the lowest forest cover in the country with only 3.59% green cover, according to the State of the Forest Report (FSI) 2017.

Facts :

• According to the FSI report, Haryana overtook Punjab, which has 3.65% forest cover.
• Though both states’ ratios are abysmally low when compared to the national target of 33%, experts believe Haryana might fare worse in future FSI reports as it is yet to take protective measures for both the Aravalis and Shivaliks under its jurisdiction.
• Punjab, however, has started taking some immediate steps to secure the Shivaliks around Chandigarh.
• Recently, forests in about 16 villages in Shivaliks were left vulnerable after a Punjab government notification dated February 3, 2003 expired on February 2, 2018.
• The notification, which categorised these villages as “forests”, ensured protection from land use change under sections 4 and 5 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA).
• Punjab, however, re-notified the forest cover on the same day of the notification expiry, putting 21,944 acres under the protective blanket of the PLPA.
• Haryana, on the other hand, has failed to re-notify 20,851 acres out of 25,037 acres forest cover, which expired in the last 10 years. This has left the Aravalis in Haryana vulnerable to land use change for real estate and other projects.
• Instead of re-notifying the forest areas, the Haryana government has started identifying “forest” and “non-forest” areas in land already notified under sections 4 and 5 of the PLPA.
• An independent study, based on data available on the Haryana forest department website, revealed that the PLPA “protection” notification has already lapsed in 36 out of 38 villages in Gurgaon, 10 out of 17 villages in Faridabad, 47 out of 57 villages in Mewat, all 12 villages in Mahendragarh, all 9 in Rewari and 1 in Palwal.
• Punjab, which was earlier the list topper, now has forest cover over 3.65% of its geographical area, compared to Haryana’s 3.59%. Between 2015 and 2017, Punjab managed to increase its the forest cover by 0.13%, while Haryana only managed to clock 0.02%.
• Haryana has only 1,588 sq km of forest, the lowest among all Indian states. Some union territories that have lesser forest area than Haryana still maintain better percentage of their geographical area under forest cover.
• Compared to Punjab, there is more very dense forest (canopy density of 70% and above) and open forest (canopy density between 10-40%) in Haryana, while its moderately dense forest (canopy density between 40-70%) is 40% lower than that of Punjab.

Analysis :

• The falling forest cover is due to diversion of forests to agriculture, and lack of efforts to maintain recorded forests.
• Historically, diversion of forest land to agriculture has been a major reason for low forest cover in states like Haryana and Punjab.
• There’s hardly any effort by the government to have recorded forests, which is very important for their protection.
• For instance, it’s shocking that even Mangar Bani is yet to be recognised as a deemed forest.
• The survey uses satellite imagery that includes all types of plantation in its record. So it is not sure if even the 3.59% attributed as forest in Haryana is actually so. This, though, applies to all states.
• With three neighbouring NCR states together having less than 5% of their geographical area under forests, it can have disastrous consequences for the NCR at large.
• 2017 assessment of FSI has made Haryana infamous as the state with the least forest cover in India.
• Moreover, with all three neighbouring states of Delhi — Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan — having less that 5% of their geographical area under forest cover, the situation is disastrous not only for these states, but also for the capital, as it depends on its neighbouring states for prevention of desertification, groundwater recharge and many more factors.