Jaipur:Around 29,692 hectares of forest land is under encroachment in Rajasthan, according to the latest figures of the ministry of environment and forests. While the country boasts of over 19.57 lakh hectares of encroached forest land as compared to 17,94,879 hectares in 2009. The data shows that the encroachments on forest land have increased over the past five years in the country. Rajasthan already has very few natural forests. The statistics for the last five years show that Bundi district in the state leads with 8878 hectares of encroached forest land. Followed by Chittorgarh 6354 hectares and Dungarpur 4426 hectares. Alwar had 454 hectares, Dausa 372 hectares, Hanumangarh 113 hectares and Ajmer had 45 hectares of forest land under encroachment. But due to the state government’s initiative, most of the encroachments in Bundi were either demolished or removed. Encroachments on 1452 hectares of forest area were removed in Chittorgarh while in Dungarpur 1122 hectare was cleared. Ajmer followed with removal of encroachment on 38 hectares, Alwar 193 hectares, Dausa 175 hectares, and 27 hectares were cleared in Hanumangarh. Encroachments at most of these places started for agricultural purposes which eventually led to human hutments and cutting down of trees for fuel and fodder. Various laws have been enacted which give right to the state governments to evict encroachers including the Indian Forest Act, 1927, Wild Life Protection Act, 1972, Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. Looking nationally, Bihar has done a great deal to preserve its forests and green cover. While in 2009, 2634 hectares of forest land was reported to be under encroachment in Bihar, the latest report of the ministry of environment reported ‘nil’ encroachments. On the flip side, Chandigarh and Dadar & Nagar Haveli, which reported no encroachments in 2009, reported 14 hectares and 613 hectares encroached land, respectively, in the latest report. The states which reported ‘no encroachment’ were Goa, Lakshadweep and Puducherry.