The National Green Tribunal has sought a response from all states and Union Territories regarding the loss of trees, saying it is a "pan-India" issue.
The green body was hearing the issue of the alleged loss of 2.33 million hectares of tree cover in the country since 2000.
In an order dated November 18, a bench of judicial member Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert member Afroz Ahmad noted the submissions of the counsel for the Survey of India about the information about forest cover being prepared and maintained by the Forest Survey of India.
"We accordingly direct Forest Survey of India through Director General, Dehradun to submit a report showing the position of forest cover in India with specific reference to northeast from the year 2000 onwards with each five-year interval covering the period up to March 2024," the tribunal said.
"Having also considered the issue that loss of trees is Pan India and therefore individual States and Union Territories should also submit their report