Archive · 6 Aug 2026
Punjab forest cover just 3.67%; three Shivalik districts hold 63%
Punjab is a big state in India, but it has very few forests.
Only a tiny part of Punjab - about 3.67 out of every 100 square kilometers - has trees and forests.
That makes it one of the states with the least forest in the whole country.
The government wants to fix this problem.
During 2022-23, workers planted more than 45 lakh baby trees, called saplings, across thousands of hectares of land.
But most of Punjab's forests are found in just three areas near the Shivalik hills.
One of these areas, called Hoshiarpur, holds almost 38 out of every 100 square kilometers of the state's forests.
Even though people are planting new trees, the forest is still very small.
So Punjab still needs to do a lot more to grow and protect its forests.
Forest cover accounts for only 3.67 per cent of Punjab's total geographical area of 50,362 sq km, one of the lowest in the country.
Punjab planted over 45.91 lakh saplings across 5,827 hectares during 2022-23 under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA).
Hoshiarpur has 697.31 sq km of forests, nearly 38 per cent of the state's total forest cover of 1,846.09 sq km.
Rupnagar (275.90 sq km) and Pathankot (192.46 sq km) are the next largest forest districts in Punjab.
Together, the three Shivalik districts account for 1,165.67 sq km, or about 63 per cent of Punjab's total forest cover.
- Who
- The Punjab government and the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA); the report was tabled in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha.
- What
- Punjab's forest cover stands at only 3.67 per cent of its geographical area, with three Shivalik districts holding about 63 per cent of the state's forests.
- When
- The Punjab CAMPA Annual Report 2022-23 was tabled in the Vidhan Sabha on Thursday; the planting data covers 2022-23.
- Where
- Punjab, India, particularly the Shivalik districts of Hoshiarpur, Rupnagar and Pathankot.
- Why
- Despite planting over 45.91 lakh saplings, Punjab continues to have one of the lowest forest covers in the country.
- State
- Punjab
- Forest cover
- 1,846.09 sq km
- Total geographical area
- 50,362 sq km
- Forest cover percentage
- 3.67%
- Saplings planted (2022-23)
- 45.91 lakh
- Area planted (2022-23)
- 5,827 hectares
- Top forest district
- Hoshiarpur (697.31 sq km, ~38%)
- Three Shivalik districts' combined forest cover
- 1,165.67 sq km (~63%)