No reliable data on forest department
The Centre has no reliable data on the impact of joint forest management (JFM) on the forest resources despite of the fact that JFM was introduced more than a decade back in the country and lakhs of hectare have been put under green cover through this community forest management scheme. Also, there is no concrete data available with the Centre on dam age to green cover by fire, pests or the extent of encroachment within the forest area. India has 1.8 per cent of world's forest cover.