Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: Madhya Pradesh
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
Forest cover is an important environmental indicator for any country. In India, the Forest Survey of India publishes the India State of Forest Report at regular intervals, which describes how much forest area each state has. Examinations often ask which state has the largest forest cover in terms of total area, not percentage. Knowing the difference between area wise forest cover and percentage share is crucial for avoiding mistakes. This question asks you to identify the Indian state with the largest forest cover by area from the options given.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
The concept here is to distinguish between two common metrics: absolute forest cover in square kilometres and percentage of geographical area under forests. While some smaller states or union territories may have a high percentage, a large state can still have the highest total forest area. According to widely accepted forest reports, Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover area in India due to its vast size and large tracts of forested land in central India. The approach is therefore to recall the correct leading state from environment and geography notes and match it to the options.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recognize that the question is about the largest forest cover area, not highest percentage.
Step 2: Recall from the India State of Forest Report that Madhya Pradesh ranks first in terms of total forest cover area.
Step 3: Note that states like Arunachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh may also have large forest areas, but they are not listed in the options.
Step 4: Compare the given options and identify Madhya Pradesh among them.
Step 5: Choose Madhya Pradesh as the correct answer because it matches the reported national ranking.
Verification / Alternative check:
To verify, you can recall that standard environment textbooks and competitive exam preparation materials often explicitly state that Madhya Pradesh has the maximum forest cover by area, followed by states such as Arunachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, depending on the specific edition of the report. None of the other given states, namely Uttarakhand, Kerala, or Uttar Pradesh, are ever listed as number one in total forest cover area. This consistent pattern across multiple sources confirms that Madhya Pradesh is the correct choice for this question.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Uttarakhand: Uttarakhand has a comparatively high percentage of forest cover due to its Himalayan terrain, but its total geographical area is smaller than that of Madhya Pradesh, so its absolute forest area is less.
Kerala: Kerala has significant forested Western Ghats regions and a relatively high percentage of forest cover, but it is a small coastal state and does not lead the country in total forest area.
Uttar Pradesh: Uttar Pradesh is a large state but much of its land is under agriculture rather than forests. It does not rank at the top in forest cover area and thus is not the correct answer.
Common Pitfalls:
Examinees often confuse highest percentage of forest cover with maximum forest area and may wrongly choose a smaller hill state. Another common mistake is to rely on intuition that hilly or coastal states must have more forests without checking the real rankings. It is also easy to confuse older and newer forest reports if you do not update your data. Keeping a small list of key rankings, such as state with largest forest cover, highest forest density, and most mangrove cover, can greatly reduce such errors.
Final Answer:
The Indian state with the largest total forest cover area is Madhya Pradesh, so Madhya Pradesh is the correct option in this question.
Discussion & Comments