India, Feb. 11 -- A good piece of news that has brought smiles to sullen faces. Jammu and Kashmir's forest cover has increased by 83.55 square kilometres between 2021 and 2023. According to the India State of Forest Report, J&K's forest cover has increased from 21,262.84 sq km in ISFR 2021 to 21,346.39 sq km in ISFR 2023. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change told the parliament that protection and management of forests primarily lie with state governments and union territory administrations. The governments are authorized to implement the Indian Forest Act, 1927, and the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, along with local forest and tree preservation rules to curb illegal deforestation. The Centre can only suppo...