📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
Agriculture
Meghalaya loses 325 sq km of forest over 14 years, says CM Conrad Sangma
✍️ India Today NE
🗓 26 Aug 2026, 11:17 PM
👁 2
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma announced that Meghalaya's forest cover has declined by 325 square kilometres in the past 14 years.
Meghalaya's forest cover has contracted by 325 square kilometres over a 14-year period, according to Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, who highlighted the figure in a recent statement. The loss, measured against the state's total forested area, underscores a steady decline in green cover since the early 2010s.
The Chief Minister emphasized that the reduction poses challenges for the state's biodiversity, water resources, and the livelihoods of communities that depend on forest ecosystems. While the exact causes were not detailed, the trend aligns with broader concerns about deforestation and land‑use change across the Northeast.
State officials are expected to review the data and consider measures to curb further forest loss, including stricter enforcement of existing environmental regulations and promotion of afforestation programmes.
The Chief Minister emphasized that the reduction poses challenges for the state's biodiversity, water resources, and the livelihoods of communities that depend on forest ecosystems. While the exact causes were not detailed, the trend aligns with broader concerns about deforestation and land‑use change across the Northeast.
State officials are expected to review the data and consider measures to curb further forest loss, including stricter enforcement of existing environmental regulations and promotion of afforestation programmes.