MP Tops India In Forest Diversion, Accounts For Over 22% Of National Total In 10 Years
· Free Press Journal
Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Across 10 years from 2014–15 to 2023–24, Madhya Pradesh handed over 38,552.61 hectares of forest land for non-forestry development—more than any other state in India.
According to data submitted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to Parliament, 173,396.87 hectares were approved for forest diversion nationally.
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Madhya Pradesh accounted for 22.23% of the total. Odisha followed with 24,458.89 hectares and Telangana with 11,422.47 hectares.
The MP figure represents statutory approvals under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
Approval does not mean immediate tree-felling, as large projects are often developed in phases, creating a gap between approved and actually cleared forest land.
Corridors and extraction
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has identified the Kanha-Pench and Bandhavgarh-Sanjay corridors as vital for tigers, leopards, dholes and gaurs moving between protected reserves.
Roads, railways and other linear projects through these corridors can affect areas beyond the forest directly taken for construction.
Mining can permanently alter the landscape. At Shankargarh Hills in Dewas, extensive mining left a severely scarred landscape, chief conservator of forest PN Mishra said.
“We had to dig holes, clear rocks, fight against the difficult terrain over years, and win over three major illegal mining operations,” deputy ranger Rakesh Modi said.
Pressure near Indore
Remote-sensing studies around Sanawadiya and Kathotian hill near Indore show stone quarrying expanded from 6.47 lakh square feet in 2000 to 10.07 lakh square feet by 2015, degrading local hydrology and topography.
Official records show environmental clearances for stone mining in Sanawadiya as recently as May 2024, including a 1.30-hectare site. Padma Shri Janak McGilligan Palta, who lives there, has noted the incremental pressure on the state's hilly fringes.
Compensatory Afforestation (CA) is meant to replace diverted forest by planting trees elsewhere. But a new plantation cannot quickly replace an old forest, its wildlife or its role in the local ecosystem.
SECTORAL SHARE OF DIVERSION IN MP
Mining & Mineral Extraction
~38% (Coal, Diamond, Bauxite)
Irrigation, Dams & Canals
~28% (Ken-Betwa, Narmada)
Roads & Highways
~18% (NH-44, Corridor Widening)
Power Transmission & Solar
~10% (High-Voltage Grids)
Defense & Public Infra
~6% (Firing Ranges, Civics)
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