Disastrous Punjab Floods have uprooted around 5 lakh trees, tearing apart the vegetative cover of the breadbasket of India. According to the report of the forest and wildlife preservation department, the loss of 4,94,956 trees over around 776 hectares in the recent floods, the worst in three decades.
A report by the India State of Forests predicts the state’s forest cover at 1,846 sq km, just 3.7% of its geographical area of around 50.3 lakh hectares. The scope is very limited to expand the forest cover, with nearly 83% of the land under cultivation.
What the Forest Department identified amid the Punjab Floods
Moreover, the forest department has identified the damage at about Rs 341.3 lakh. However, officials stated that these are only primary predictions and the actual figures would come to light when the floodwater goes away, and the amount of destruction would be evaluated. Additionally, a memorandum prepared by principal chief conservator of forests Dharminder Sharma for submission to the inter-ministerial central team highlighted damage to 10 departmental buildings, adding another Rs 19.2 lakh in losses. The aggregate damage is over Rs 360.5 lakh. He said that once the situation improves, a detailed plan will be drawn up to overcome the damage caused to the green cover. Notably, Experts warned that the floods have worsened Punjab’s ecological blanket. However, the forest cover is already among the lowest in the country, and the loss of plantations under state-run afforestation schemes is anticipated to further weaken the efforts to restore ecological balance.