The NGT has called for responses from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the Survey of India (SoI), and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) regarding a report alleging that India has lost 2.33 million hectares (6%) of its tree cover since 2000.
Acting on a report from The Indian Express titled “India Lost 2.33 Million Hectares of Tree Cover Since 2000: Global Forest Watch,” Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, judicial member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi, and expert member Dr. A Senthil Vel took suo motu action on the matter.
The Tribunal noted a GFW report stating India lost 414,000 hectares of humid primary forest from 2002 to 2023, 18% of total tree cover loss. Between 2001 and 2022, Indian forests emitted 51 million tons of CO2 but absorbed 141 million tons annually, creating a net carbon sink.
Forests act as carbon sinks, but 95% of India’s tree cover loss from 2013 to 2023 occurred naturally. Five states accounted for 60% of this loss: Assam, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Manipur.
India’s deforestation rate was 668,000 hectares per year from 2015 to 2020, second-highest globally. The NGT found these trends violated environmental laws, issuing notices to the Ministry, SoI, and CPCB for a hearing on August 28. The SoI Director must submit a report on India’s forest cover, particularly in the Northeast, from 2000 to March 2024.
