India diverted 1.73L hectares of forest land for development projects
Between April 1, 2014, and March 31, 2024, India cleared over 1.73 lakh hectares of forest land for non-forest uses, as revealed by Environment Minister Kirti Vardhan Singh in Parliament today.
Most of this land went to mining projects (over 40,000 hectares), with hydropower and irrigation not far behind, using up another 40,000 hectares combined.
Breakdown of the total forest land diverted
Big chunks also supported infrastructure—think roads and power lines (over 47,000 hectares), defense projects (nearly 15,000 hectares), and railways (about 8,000 hectares).
Smaller portions were used for converting forest villages, water supply schemes, wind energy setups, industries, electrification drives—even things like optical fiber lines and pipelines.
It's a snapshot of how India is balancing development with green spaces.