C’garh: Activists voice concern over shrinking green cover

With the forest-rich Chhattisgarh losing its green cover to development activities, mining and encroachment, environment activists have voiced their concern against the forests being ‘sacrificed’ in the name of growth.

An Indian State of Forest Report (ISFR)-2013 has revealed that forest cover in the state declined by 53 sq kms between 2011 and 2013. Development activities, mining and encroachment have been attributed as the reasons for it in the report.

‘Both the Centre and state governments are not serious towards environment conservation and rampantly vanishing forests in Chhattisgarh in a quest of coal to feed their power plants. It is high time that the authorities wake up and make their stand clear to save the forest cover,’ social activist Ramesh Agrawal told PTI.

The main reasons for the decrease in forest cover are ‘developmental activities, mining and encroachment of forest land, particularly in districts affected with Left Wing Extremism,’ it said.