The gross forest area in the Andhra Pradesh has come down despite the State Government spending hundreds of crores on the Vana Samrakshana Samitis under the Joint Forest Management programme. District wise vegetation statistics obtained by the State Forest Department through geomatic studies show a decline in the gross forest area in Karimnagar, Khammam, Krishna, Kurnool, Nalgonda, Nellore, Nizamabad,Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Warangal district, the decline was over 1000 hectare between 1996 and 1999.