Assam Tops in Encroachment of Forest Land

New Delhi, Mar 12 : Assam has topped the list of states in terms of encroachment in forest land, with about 4,85,674 hectares of area being occupied, the government told the Lok Sabha.

Replying to a query, environment minister Jairam Ramesh said that Andhra Pradesh is in the second place with 2,68,853 hectares of forest land under encroachment.

According to the data available from the states, about 17,94,879 hectares of forest land are under encroachment.

Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand too are not far behind with a total 5,28,077 hectares of forest land under encroachment.

In the national capital, 200 hectares of forest land have been illegally occupied by unscrupulous elements.

Ramesh said there was no proposal to regularize the encroachments in violation of order of the Supreme Court.

"However, proposals of the state and UT governments submitted after the approval of the apex court are considered for regularization by the Central government under the provision of the Forest (Conservation) Act," he said.