Uttar Pradesh has recorded a sapling survival rate of 86.67% between 2021 and 2024, according to a forest department report shared by the state government on Thursday. The annual survival rate showed consistent improvement, from 76.87% in 2021-22 to 96.06% in 2024-25, it claimed.
The state also reported a 3.72% rise in tree cover outside forest areas by 2023, which is higher than the national average of 3.41%, the Forest Survey of India (FSI). The government attributed this increase to sustained plantation efforts, with over 240 crore saplings planted in the last eight years, including 37.21 crore in 2025 alone.
Since 2017, the state has added nearly 5 lakh acres to its green cover. Tree cover rose by 2 lakh acres between 2017 and 2021, and by another 1.38 lakh acres between 2021 and 2023, taking the total to around 3.38 lakh acres. Overall forest and tree cover in the state increased from 9.18% to nearly 10%, according to the state government.
The FSI report also noted a 2.46% rise in forest carbon stock in the state, translating to an absorption of about 72 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, nearly double the national average increase of 1.13%.