Nearly 19,000 sq km of forest area in the country is under encroachment, the Lok Sabha was infromed on Tuesday. “As per information provided by states and Union Territories, the forest area under encroachment is 18,994 sq kms which is approximately 2.47 per cent of the total forest area of the country,” Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said. To prevent fresh encroachments, he said various steps are being taken, including setting up of checkposts, barriers, use of mordern technology and improved mobility to the field staff by providing vehicles for patrolling among others.