Assam forest cover increases

Denying reports of large scale felling of trees in Assam, the Centre has said that according to the India State of Forest Report, 2017 of the Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun, the forest cover of in the State has increased by 567 sq km compared to the forest cover as assessed in 2015.

According to information received from the Government of Assam, the forest cover in Dima Hasao district has decreased by 1.06 per cent over the 2015 assessment of FSI.

However, there are no reports of large scale tree felling in Assam recently, Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Mahesh Sharma said in reply to a Rajya Sabha question by Congress MP Bhubaneswar Kalita.

The responsibility of protection and management of forests in a state lies primarily with the respective state governments. The forest department of Assam deals with cases of illegal felling in accordance with the provisions of the extant Acts, and rules and regulations. The Union ministry will intervene whenever a specific case is referred to it by the state government for assistance, the minister said.

Featured Image: assamforest.in