Though it comes with a caveat of compensatory afforestation, this figure is important. The last State of the Forest Report, published by the Forest Survey of India, noted that out of a total of 76.84 million hectares of total forest area, India had lost over 26,000 sq km of dense forest mostly due to industrialisation between 2001 and 2003. Over this time, the green cover increased by just 2,795 sq km.

Experts wonder if the Government considered any of this while approving clearance of 15,000 hectares of forest in just one year.

In these projects, maximum number of trees are being cut

• Amelia coal block, Sidhi, Madhya Pradesh: 14.83 lakh trees to be cut, making it the maximum for a single project. The return is nearly 10 million tonnes of coal annually. The Supreme Court panel has noted that the Government is just a minority shareholder in the project, and hence, there is even more reason to examine it carefully

• Rowghat Iron Ore Mining Project, Chhattisgarh: 883 hectares of forest land to be cleared for the project, and another 259 more to lay a rail line to carry the ore. This means felling of 2.95 lakh trees. Incidentally, the project was earlier rejected as it involved felling of a large number of trees

• Three irrigation projects, Maharashtra: Together, the Human River Project, Lower Penganaga Major Irrigation Project and Jigoan Irrigation Project involve cutting of 3.38 lakh trees. Again, the projects were earlier rejected on ground of felling of two many trees