Rampant illegal mining and increased naxal violence in the state have taken a toll on the forest cover in the state.
According to India State of Forest Report 2011, based on interpretation of satellite data recorded during October 2008-March 2009, very dense forest (VDF) and moderately dense forest (MDF) in the state has declined by 41 sq kms.
The VDF in the state decreased from 7073 sq kms in 2009 to 7060 sq kms in 2011 while the MDF area has come down by 28 sq kms from 21,394 sq kms to 21,366 sq kms during the same period.On the contrary, the open forest cover has increased by 89 sq kms and non forest cover has gone up by 70 sq kms compared to the previous report published in 2009.