Hyderabad: Telangana boasts of having a forest cover of 27,688 square kilometres, which accounts for 24.69 per cent of the geographical area. The state forest department says this figure is greater than the national average of 23.59 per cent.
But the statistic covers the fact that in at least 12 districts the forest cover is less than 10 per cent. Areas with minimal tree canopy density are often considered ecologically degraded as they fail to meet even the basic requirement, as per the Forest Survey of India report 2023. This was also mentioned in the socio-economic survey that was tabled during the recent Assembly session.
Interestingly, the 12 districts with less forest cover are largely rural. Karimnagar district has a minimum of 2.29 per cent forest cover, Jogulamba Gadwal (2.32 per cent); Hanamkonda (3.4); Warangal (3.53); Jangaon (4.44); Suryapet (4.67); Narayanpet (5.43); Sangareddy (6.76); Wanaparthy (7.07); Siddipet (8.78); Nalgonda (9.57) and 9.66 per cent forest cover in…
