LUCKNOW, June 5 -- The recorded forest area in the state has increased over the last 23 years. This has been recorded in the State of Forest Report (SOFR) 2001 and SOFR 2023. However, the source of worry is that reserved forests and protected forests recorded a substantial decrease over the years in the state.

The recorded forest area in the state was 16,826 sq km in 2001 which increased to 17,435 sq km in 2023 according to SOFR 2001 and SOFR 2023, respectively.

While the total recorded forest area increased by 609 sq km, the same reports mentioned that the protected forest area reduced by 2,095 sq km: from 2425 sq km in SOFR 2001 to 330 sq km in SOFR 2023.

Despite this dip, what led to overall increase in the recorded forest area is a...