A Crisis For Green Cover: 60,000 Acres Of Forest Land Diverted In Madhya Pradesh In 5 years
According to the ISFR Reports, Madhya Pradesh's forest cover was 77,444 square kilometres in 2021, which decreased to 77,073 square kilometres in 2023.
Published : February 12, 2026 at 4:03 PM IST
Bhopal: Development in Madhya Pradesh is taking place at the expense of forests. Over the past five years, Madhya Pradesh has lost 60,000 acres of forest land for projects like roads, railway lines and mining. This figure is said to be the highest in the country.
According to central government data, 97,050 hectares (2,39,815 acres) of forest land has been diverted across the country in the last five years. This forest land was diverted for purposes other than plantations. Of this, Madhya Pradesh has the highest forest land diversion, followed by Odisha.
Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Kirti Vardhan Singh, provided this information in response to a question in the Rajya Sabha. According to the information, the highest amount of forest land in the country, 22,233 hectares, has been acquired solely for road construction.
Madhya Pradesh has seen the highest forest land diversion in the country. In the last five years, 24,346 hectares (60,000 acres) of forest land have been diverted in the state. In the year 2024-25 alone, 3,236 hectares of forest land were diverted. In the year 2023-24, 9,219 hectares of forest land were diverted, in 2022-23, 3,492 hectares in 2021-22, and 6,352 hectares in 2020-21.
According to retired IFS officer Sudesh Waghmare, "For forest land acquired for development purposes, funds are received in the form of CAMPA funds, which should be used for forest management. However, in many cases, CAMPA funds have been used for building construction. This has been previously raised in the CAG report." He added that after forest land diversion, centuries-old trees are cut down. "Therefore, planting trees alone won't compensate for this loss; it's a significant responsibility to ensure that the trees grow,"said Waghmare.
According to the India State of Forest Reports, Madhya Pradesh's forest cover was 77,444 square kilometres in 2021, which decreased to 77,073 square kilometres in 2023.
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