Increasing green cover

Ambiguity in the definition of forests should be removed

The government’s forest management record, as portrayed in the State of Forests in India 2019 report, seems a blend of some notable successes and a few glaring failures. While the country’s overall green cover has increased by 5,188 sq km — an area of the size of Delhi and Goa put together — the existing forests are thinning and several north-eastern states and other regions inhabited largely by tribals have lost some of their forests. This bodes ill for the livelihood security of the large forest-dependent population. It also has socio-economic, and law and order implications as many of these