Hyderabad: Forest cover in Telangana increased by 6.85 per cent during 2015 to 2021 period, according to the Telangana Socio Economic Outlook 2023. The India State of Forest Reports has stated that the forest cover in Telangana was 19,854 sq km in 2015, which subsequently increased to 20,582 sq km in 2019 and to 21,214 sq kms in 2021, registering a remarkable increase of 6.85 per cent in forest cover from 2015 to 2021, the survey brought out by the government mentioned.
Also Read: Meet Jadav Molai Payeng, The Forest Man Of India, Who Has Been Planting Trees For The Last 43 Years
Hyderabad registered the highest decadal growth rate of forest cover at 146.8 per cent between 2011-21 among the seven major cities of Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai, it said.
Telangana has a total forest area of 26,969.61 sq km, accounting for 24.06 per cent of the total geographical area of the state, said the survey, which was released by the state government here two days ago.
Telangana is endowed with a rich diversity of flora and fauna with over 2,939 plant species, 365 bird species, 103 mammal species, 28 reptile species, 21 amphibian species and a large number of invertebrate species.
Under the state government’s flagship green drive ‘Telangana ku Haritha Haaram’ (green ornament to Telangana), the government had set a target to plant 230 crore seedlings across the state from 2015-16 to 2022-23.
By January 2023, 270.65 crore saplings had been planted with an achievement of 117.68 per cent and expenditure of Rs 10,417 crore, the Outlook said.
As per ISFR data, the forest cover outside of the recorded forest area in the state was 1,727 sq km in 2015 which increased to 2,518 sq km in 2021 showing a significant increase of 45.80 per cent, which can be attributed to the government’s flagship programmes like ‘Haritha Haram’, it said.
Hyderabad was recognised as the “Tree City of the World” by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Arbor Day Foundation for two consecutive years in 2020 and 2021, it further said.
Also Read: US, India Launch New Initiative To Increase Tree Coverage In India
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
