Maharashtra's tree cover increased by 273 square kilometres in non-forest areas, highest among all states, says state govt

Mumbai: Maharashtra registered the highest increase in tree cover in non-forest areas in the country in the last two years, the government said on Tuesday.

Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said that as per an audit by the Forest Survey of India (FSI), in the last two years, the tree cover under non-forest areas in the state increased by 273 square kilometres, the highest in the country.

Further, the state accounted for half the growth in the area under mangroves in the country, he said.

“The area under mangroves increased by 82 square kilometres in the state,” he said.

Under the state government’s plantation drive this monsoon, over 14 crore trees have been planted since 1 July, he said.

Over 36 lakh participants planted 14,71,88,417 trees this season against the target of 13 crore, he said.

Four districts exceeded their plantation targets: Aurangabad, Nanded, Chandrapur and Yavatmal.

The government has set an ambitious target to plant 33 crore trees next year.

As per the FSI audit, the bamboo plantation in Maharashtra increased by 4,462 square kilometres, while the area under water bodies saw increase of 432 square kilometres, Mungantiwar said.

Over 53 lakh people have enrolled in the `Green Army’, a government initiative whose aim is to increase public participation in the safeguarding of the environment and forests, he said.