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Q33 (IAS/2019) Geography › Indian Physical Geography › Indian forest types Official Key

Consider the following States : 1. Chhattisgarh 2. Madhya Pradesh 3. Maharashtra 4. Odisha With reference to the States mentioned above, in terms of percentage of forest cover to the total area of State, which one of the following is the correct ascending order?

Result
Your answer: —  ·  Correct: C
Explanation

The correct answer is option C (3-2-4-1), which represents the ascending order: Maharashtra - Madhya Pradesh - Odisha - Chhattisgarh.

According to the forest cover data, Chhattisgarh has 41.13% forest cover[1], which is the highest among these four states. While the provided source doesn't include complete data for Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Odisha in the visible excerpt, the correct ascending order places Maharashtra with the lowest percentage of forest cover, followed by Madhya Pradesh, then Odisha, and finally Chhattisgarh with the highest percentage at over 41%.

This order makes geographical sense as Chhattisgarh is known for its dense forest cover, being part of the central Indian forest belt. Maharashtra, being more urbanized and having diverse terrain including the Deccan plateau, has comparatively lower forest cover. Madhya Pradesh and Odisha fall in between these extremes, with Odisha having significant forest areas in its tribal belts.

Sources
  1. [1] Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 5: Natural Vegetation and National Parks > Table 5.2 > p. 9
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Q. Consider the following States : 1. Chhattisgarh 2. Madhya Pradesh 3. Maharashtra 4. Odisha With reference to the States mentioned ab…
At a glance
Origin: From standard books Fairness: High fairness Books / CA: 10/10 · 0/10

This is a classic 'Data Interpretation' question derived from the biennial India State of Forest Report (ISFR). It tests the specific nuance between 'Largest Forest Area' (Absolute) and 'Percentage of Forest Cover' (Relative). The trap lies in confusing Madhya Pradesh's #1 rank in area with its lower rank in percentage.

How this question is built

This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.

Statement 1
For the Indian states Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Odisha, what is the percentage of forest cover of each state relative to its total geographical area?
Origin: Direct from books Fairness: Straightforward Book-answerable
From standard books
Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 5: Natural Vegetation and National Parks > Table 5.2 > p. 9
Presence: 5/5
“• State State: ; Geographic Geographic: Area Area; Forest Forest: Cover Cover; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: w.r.t Geographical Area w.r.t Geographical Area • State State: Andhra Pradesh; Geographic Geographic: 162,968; Forest Forest: 29,137; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 17.88 • State State: Arunachal Pradesh; Geographic Geographic: 83,743; Forest Forest: 66,688; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 79.63 • State State: Assam; Geographic Geographic: 78,438; Forest Forest: 28,327; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 36.11 • State State: Bihar; Geographic Geographic: 94,163; Forest Forest: 7,306; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 7.76 • State State: Chhattisgarh; Geographic Geographic: 135,192; Forest Forest: 55,611; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 41.13 • State State: Delhi; Geographic Geographic: 1,483; Forest Forest: 195.44; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 13.18 • State State: Goa; Geographic Geographic: 3,702; Forest Forest: 2,237; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 60.43 • State State: Gujarat; Geographic Geographic: 196,244; Forest Forest: 14,857; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 7.57 • State State: Haryana; Geographic Geographic: 44,212; Forest Forest: 1,602; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 3.62 • State State: Himachal Pradesh; Geographic Geographic: 55,673; Forest Forest: 15,430; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 27.72 • State State: Jharkhand; Geographic Geographic: 79,716; Forest Forest: 23,611; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 29.62 • State State: Karnataka; Geographic Geographic: 191,791; Forest Forest: 38,757; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 20.11 • State State: Kerala; Geographic Geographic: 38,852; Forest Forest: 21,144; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 54.42 • State State: Madhya Pradesh; Geographic Geographic: 308,245; Forest Forest: 77,482; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 25.14 • State State: Maharashtra; Geographic Geographic: 307,713; Forest Forest: 50,778; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 16.50 • State State: Manipur; Geographic Geographic: 22,327; Forest Forest: 16,847; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 75.46 • State State: Meghalaya; Geographic Geographic: 22,429; Forest Forest: 17,119; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 76.33 • State State: Mizoram; Geographic Geographic: 21,081; Forest Forest: 18,006; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 85.41 • State State: Nagaland; Geographic Geographic: 16,579; Forest Forest: 12,486; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 75.31 • State State: Odisha; Geographic Geographic: 155,707; Forest Forest: 51,691; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 33.15 • State State: Punjab; Geographic Geographic: 50,362; Forest Forest: 1,849; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 3.67 • State State: Rajasthan; Geographic Geographic: 342,239; Forest Forest: 16,630; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 4.86 • State State: Sikkim; Geographic Geographic: 7,096; Forest Forest: 3,342; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 47.10 • State State: Tamil Nadu; Geographic Geographic: 130,060; Forest Forest: 26,364; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 20.27 • State State: Telangana; Geographic Geographic: 112,077; Forest Forest: 20,582; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 18.36 • State State: Tripura; Geographic Geographic: 10,486; Forest Forest: 7,726; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 73.68 • State State: Uttarakhand; Geographic Geographic: 53,483; Forest Forest: 24,303; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 45.44 • State State: Uttar Pradesh; Geographic Geographic: 240,928; Forest Forest: 14,806; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 6.15 • State State: West Bengal; Geographic Geographic: 88,752; Forest Forest: 16,902; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: 19.04 • State State: UNION TERRITORIES; Geographic Geographic: ; Forest Forest: ; Percent of Forest Cover Percent of Forest Cover: • State State: A & N.”
Why this source?
  • Contains a state-wise table listing geographic area, forest area, and percent forest cover w.r.t. geographical area.
  • Provides the exact percent values for Chhattisgarh (41.13%), Madhya Pradesh (25.14%), Maharashtra (16.50%), and Odisha (33.15%).
  • Data is presented in a clear tabular form enabling direct extraction of required percentages.
Pattern takeaway: UPSC avoids comparing obvious outliers (like Mizoram vs. Rajasthan) in difficult questions. Instead, they pick states from the same geographical region (Central/Deccan India) to test if you understand the micro-regional geography (e.g., Vidarbha dryness vs. Bastar density).
How you should have studied
  1. [THE VERDICT]: Sitter. This data is explicitly tabulated in the Executive Summary of the ISFR and every standard geography book (Majid Husain, Khullar, or Shankar IAS).
  2. [THE CONCEPTUAL TRIGGER]: The 'Forest Cover vs. Recorded Forest Area' distinction in the ISFR. Understanding that large states (MP, Maharashtra) often have lower percentages due to vast agricultural/arid land.
  3. [THE HORIZONTAL EXPANSION]: Memorize the ISFR 'Holy Trinity': 1. Top 5 by Area: MP > Arunachal > Chhattisgarh > Odisha > Maharashtra. 2. Top 5 by Percentage: Mizoram > Arunachal > Meghalaya > Manipur > Nagaland. 3. Bottom 3 by Percentage: Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan.
  4. [THE STRATEGIC METACOGNITION]: When studying state rankings, never stop at Rank 1. Always memorize the relative hierarchy of the 'Confusing Cluster' (Central Indian states: MP, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand) because they appear similar but have distinct densities.
Concept hooks from this question
📌 Adjacent topic to master
S1
👉 Forest cover percentage = (forest area / geographical area) × 100
💡 The insight

This ratio is the explicit metric used to report and compare forest extent for the four states in the table.

High-yield for UPSC geography questions because many problems ask for interpreting or calculating area-based percentages; connects to topics on land use, conservation targets, and policy benchmarks like the 33% target. Mastery enables quick checking of reported percentages and back-calculation from area figures.

📚 Reading List :
  • Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 5: Natural Vegetation and National Parks > Table 5.2 > p. 9
🔗 Anchor: "For the Indian states Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Odisha, wha..."
📌 Adjacent topic to master
S1
👉 State-wise variation and ranking of forest cover
💡 The insight

Percent values show substantial differences among states (e.g., Chhattisgarh >> Maharashtra), highlighting regional variation.

Important for comparative questions and map-based or policy analysis; helps link physical geography (forest distribution) with development, conservation priority and resource management questions. Useful to answer ‘which state has higher/lower forest cover’ style items.

📚 Reading List :
  • Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 5: Natural Vegetation and National Parks > Table 5.2 > p. 9
  • Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 5: Natural Vegetation and National Parks > Table 5.2 > p. 10
🔗 Anchor: "For the Indian states Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Odisha, wha..."
📌 Adjacent topic to master
S1
👉 Indian State of Forest Report (FSI/ISFR) as the primary data source
💡 The insight

Biennial FSI/ISFR publications supply the national and state-level forest cover statistics referenced in the material.

Knowing FSI/ISFR as the authoritative source is useful for answering current-affairs and data-based geography questions, tracking trends across editions, and citing credible figures in mains answers and interviews.

📚 Reading List :
  • Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 10: Indian Forest > IO.2 INDIAN STATE OF FOREST REPORT, 2021 > p. 164
  • Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 5: Natural Vegetation and National Parks > Table 5.2 > p. 10
🔗 Anchor: "For the Indian states Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Odisha, wha..."
🌑 The Hidden Trap

The 'Mangrove Cover' Hierarchy. Just as they asked for Forest Cover, the next logical sequence is Mangrove Area: West Bengal > Gujarat > A&N Islands > Andhra Pradesh. Also, watch out for 'Carbon Stock' rankings (Arunachal is usually top tier here).

⚡ Elimination Cheat Code

Apply the 'Rain Shadow' Logic. Maharashtra (3) contains the vast, semi-arid Marathwada and Vidarbha regions (Rain Shadow of Western Ghats), implying the lowest forest percentage among the options. This eliminates A and B immediately. Between C and D, compare MP (2) and Chhattisgarh (1). Chhattisgarh was carved out of MP specifically comprising the dense tribal/hilly forests (Bastar plateau), while MP retained the Malwa agricultural plains. Thus, Chhattisgarh > MP. Answer is C (3-2-4-1).

🔗 Mains Connection

GS-2 Polity & GS-3 Economy (Fiscal Federalism): The 15th Finance Commission assigns a 10% weightage to 'Forest and Ecology' for tax devolution. States with higher forest cover % (like Chhattisgarh) demand more funds for acting as 'Carbon Sinks' for the nation, limiting their industrial land use.

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SIMILAR QUESTIONS

NDA-II · 2017 · Q92 Relevance score: 3.79

Consider the following States of India in terms of percentage of forest area in relation to the total area of the State : 1. Karnataka 2. Odisha 3. Kerala 4. Andhra Pradesh Which one of the following is the correct descending order ?

CDS-II · 2015 · Q3 Relevance score: 3.70

Consider the following Indian States : 1. Chhattisgarh 2. Telangana 3. Andhra Pradesh 4. Uttarakhand 5. Tamil Nadu Which among, the States, given above are the largest and smallest respectively (in terms of geographical area)?

NDA-II · 2016 · Q42 Relevance score: 3.02

Arrange the following states in decreasing order of their total area under forest cover: 1 Jharkhand 2. Chhattisgarh 3. Anmachal Pradesh 4. Madhya Pradesh Select the correct answer using the code given below:

CDS-II · 2024 · Q94 Relevance score: 1.80

As per India State of Forest Report 2021, which one of the following states is not among the top three with reference to maximum area under forest?

NDA-I · 2017 · Q94 Relevance score: 1.29

Consider the following Indian States : 1. Bihar 2. Rajasthan 3. Jammu and Kashmir 4. Haryana Which one of the following is the correct ascending order of the above States on the basis of percentage of State’s population to total population of India (based on census 2011) ?