Green cover of Delhi has increased from 21.88 percent to 23.06 per cent in the last two-year, Delhi Government said on Thursday. Environment Minister Gopal Rai said, “Green Cover of Delhi has increased by almost 18 sq km. The Union Environment Minister released the State of Forest Report (SFR)- 2021 today. The report has been prepared by Forest Survey of India, Union Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change. As per this report, Green Cover of Delhi has increased by almost 18 sq km in comparison to SFR 2019."
He added, The tree cover of Delhi as per SFR 2019 was 129 sq km which has now increased to 147 sq km that means there is an increase of 18 sq km within 2 years. The overall green cover (Forest cover + Tree cover) is now 342 sq km (as per SFR 2021) which was earlier 324.44 sq km. Thus, there is a net increment of 17.5 sq km in green cover.
In terms of percentage, Green cover of Delhi has increased from 21.88% to 23.06% of its geographical area in the last 2 years i.e. 2019-2021.
He concluded, "There is also a slight increase in Moderate Dense Forest from 56.42 sq km in 2019 to 56.60 sq km in 2021. There is no change in the Very Dense Forest (6.2 sq km). The Open forest which was 132.30 sq km in the year 2019 has now changed to 131.68 sq km."