Tripura's Green Cover Crisis: Challenges and Initiatives

The Tripura government is tackling a significant reduction in forest cover, attributed to various factors including misimplementation of the 2006 Act. Efforts are underway to educate forest dwellers on sustainable livelihoods, address land demarcation issues, and implement afforestation drives to restore the state's ecological balance.

Tripura is witnessing a notable decline in its forest cover, prompting government intervention. State Forest Minister Animesh Debbarma has attributed the reduction to various factors, including misimplementation of the Recognition of Forest (Rights) Act, 2006, and unsustainable practices by forest dwellers.

Efforts are underway to educate those living in forest areas on sustainable livelihoods, potentially utilizing bamboo plantations to balance economic necessities and forest conservation. The government is revisiting land demarcation practices and scrutinizing ground-level forest cover to prevent further degradation.

The Forest Survey of India's report highlighted a loss of 95.31 sq km of forest cover in Tripura over two years. To combat this, a major afforestation initiative aims to plant saplings across 10,000 hectares annually, alongside promoting roadside and riverbank plantations.

(With inputs from agencies.)