Bhubaneswar: The India State of Forest Report released by Union forest minister Bhupender Yadav on Saturday, revealed that Odisha is in the second spot nationally among states showing maximum increase in forest cover inside the recorded forest areas, with Mizoram topping the list. Odisha reported an increase of 118.17 sq km, while Mizoram’s increase was 192.92 sq km. West Bengal registered 64.79 sq km, while neighbouring Jharkhand’s growth was 52.72 sq km.
Nationally, there was a net increase of 156.41 sq km in forest cover. Odisha registered a growth of 151.89 sq km, with Mizoram and Gujarat taking the first and second spots with an increase of 241.73 sq km and 180.07 sq km in forest cover, respectively.
In terms of the highest combined forest and tree cover increase, Odisha’s growth was 559 sq km, on par with Uttar Pradesh and second only to Chhattisgarh, which recorded 684 sq km.
Madhya Pradesh has the maximum bamboo-bearing area of 20,421 sq km, but Odisha has taken the fourth spot with 12,328 sq km of bamboo area, following Arunachal Pradesh (18,424 sq km) and Maharashtra (13,572 sq km). The report stated that the bamboo-bearing area in Arunachal Pradesh showed the highest increase of 2,685 sq km, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 2,027 sq km.
Odisha is among the top three states in terms of fire incidences reported the most in the 2023-24 season. The other two states with the highest and second highest fire incidences are Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh.