Only 2% of total land under forest cover in Jalandhar district

Witnessing an aggressive mushrooming of urban residential colonies in new areas every year, Jalandhar district is left with only two per cent of the land under forest cover. Much of the district has been overtaken by rampant urban ‘progress and development’.

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As per data received by the Agriculture Department, of the total 2,66,224 hectares of geographical land in Jalandhar, only 5,600 hectares — which amount to a mere two per cent — is under forests in the district. Forested land is much less than even the waterlogged, fallow and crop land in the district.

Barring the 5,600 hectares of forests —- 17,289 hectares of area is waterlogged, 442 hectares is wasteland, 9,447 hectares is fallow land and 33,1023 is the total cropped area.

Vast swathes of forest and agricultural area in Jalandhar have been overtaken by white concrete monoliths in the past few years, for which kaccha and green land and farms have given way to asphalt roads and paved paths of residential areas.

Among the 10 blocks of Jalandhar, Adampur is the most forested and Shahkot is least forested.

Of the total 20,331 hectares of land in Adampur, 1,207 hectares is under forests and of the 24,181 hectares of total land of Shahkot, a mere 233 hectares is forested. In Jalandhar East, only 750 hectares of total 23,835 hectares of land is under forests. In Jalandhar West, only 400 hectares (out of 35,337 ha), in Bhogpur 670 hectares (out of 21,348 ha); in Phillaur 1,250 hectares (out of 30,032 ha); at Nurmahal 438 hectares (out of 26,596 ha); in Nakodar, 352 hectares (out of 44,158 ha); in Lohian Khas, 300 hectares (out of 20,651 ha) is under forests.

Chief Agricultural Officer, Jalandhar, Randhir Singh said, “It is true that deforestation is rampant and climate change is also causing a dramatic change in weather patterns with freak and unpredictable weather becoming more common. However, we are working regularly to sensitise farmers to counter the effects of deforestation and carry out rampant afforestation drives as well as plantations. Farmers are regularly being exhorted to retain and increase tree cover in their fields because trees in farms have more chances of surviving owing to regular maintenance and watering of crops.”

District Forest Officer Jarnail Singh said, “We are holding regular plantation drives and since last year, an estimated 2,000 trees have been cut in the district and 10 lakh saplings have been planted with similar targets this year.”

“With the state government mandating five times compensatory plantation for every tree cut since September 2024, those carrying out deforestation are now being held accountable,” he said.

A senior MC official said, “Areas near the Vidhipur Crossing, at Maqsudan, is the only sparsely forested area left in the city. Huge stretches which earlier had trees, over the years have fallen prey to concrete, with little or no plantations undertaken to substitute for it. Even plantation drives turn out to be fake initiatives as most plants die in a few months with no one to water them.”