The minimum land area recommended for forest cover to maintain proper ecological balance in India is

Answer: (b) 33%

The National Forest Policy (1952 and 1988) set 33% of land under forest or tree cover — 66% in the hills.

The idea

The one-third figure comes from India’s forest policy. The idea is that a country needs about a third of its land under trees to protect soil, water and climate, and more than that in the hills, where slopes erode easily.

Forest Policy 1894: forests for revenue and farming → Forest Policy 1952: one-third of land under forest → Forest Policy 1988: ecological balance comes first; two-thirds in hills → Joint Forest Management, 1990: villagers share in protection

Also know

Forest cover is land with a tree canopy, whether or not it is legally recorded as forest. Recorded forest area is land entered as forest in government records, even if trees are sparse. Tree cover includes small patches outside recorded forests. A monoculture plantation can add canopy cover without matching the biodiversity of a natural forest.