Madhya Pradesh has several reasons to be proud of and the highly coveted title of being the state with the most forest cover is another. The Indian State of Forest Report 2011 has confirmed that over 367 sq.km of the nation has dwindled from a green carpet to a concrete jungle but Madhya Pradesh was not where there reduction occurred.

The maintenance of the forests in the state made the forest minister Sartaj Singh excited and elated as he directed officers to increase density of forest cover by planting maximum saplings in moderately dense areas and further strengthening forest protection arrangements.

Arunachal Pradesh was close behind Madhya Pradesh in terms of forest cover with 67,410 Sq. Km competing with 77,770 Sq. Km.  Chhattishgarh, Maharashtra, Orissa were in the top five.  Forest cover fell significantly in Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Chandigarh.

(AW- Anil)