80 per cent projects with forest land diversion got nod

Nearly 80 per cent of developmental projects seeking diversion of forest land in urban areas have been given the green signal by the Union environment ministry in the last three years. As per the official records, during 2013-16, 81 such proposals were received by the environment ministry of which 64 projects, which fall in forest lands, were cleared by the government for development work.

Among the states who sought approval from the environment ministry, Haryana tops the list with 22 proposals followed by Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. As many as 11 proposals were received from Punjab, 10 from Himachal Pradesh and 10 from Uttarakhand.

“Punjab and Himachal Pradesh got permission to go ahead with eight projects each while Uttarakhand got clearance for only six projects,” said the sources.

These states were followed by Maharashtra and Rajasthan with five proposals each. Rajasthan’s proposals amount to diversion of about 135 hectares of forest land for developmental use, which is most by any state.

As per the norms, forest land in urban areas is diverted for development works for providing essential services such as schools, drinking water supply, dispensaries and hospitals. Of the 17 that are still pending, one of them is with the Chhattisgarh government while others are with the environment ministry. “Grant of approvals by the Central government under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 is a continuing process. Quite often, proposals or compliance of stage-I approvals received from the state/UT governments area are not complete in all respects and the Central government has to seek further details and documents from the concerned authorities,” environment minister Prakash Javadekar said.

It is pertinent to note that the government has been promising several afforestation steps to control the deteriorating forest cover across the country which could jeopardise the environment. The government has also been working to create a policy to develop urban greens.

The plan is being developed keeping in mind the rapid urbanisation India is expected to witness in the next few decades.