Business-friendly green clearances must be eliminated: Citizens write to environment ministry
The citizens demanded that MoEFCC must eliminate business-friendly forest clearance, to safeguard the forest area in the country
PUNE Residents of Pune have expressed concerns to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in response to suggestions/objections called by the ministry over the Forest Conservation Amendment Bill 2023.
The citizens demanded that MoEFCC must eliminate business-friendly forest clearance, to safeguard the forest area in the country.
In March 2023, the central government introduced the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023, which sought to amend certain provisions under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. Considering its wider implications, the joint committee invited objections/suggestions from citizens.
Responding to this call, the Area Sabha Association Of Pune (ASAP), a citizens group which consists of experts and green activists, has submitted its view to the committee.
Ravindra Sinha, a member of ASAP, said, “The FCA bill states that land use can be changed from forest to non-forest without requiring cumbersome forest clearance under FCA, all the way up to the Supreme Court Central Empowered Committee (SCCEC). This could also mean that the user agencies would now be exempted from paying the revised net present value ranging from ₹6,70,140 to ₹15,95,790 per hectare that otherwise would have had to be paid for the forest land they receive.”
“Compensatory afforestation for the land diverted – equivalent land if the land is revenue land, or double the land diverted if it is degraded land – would also not be required to be carried out. This is highly detrimental to our forests and we demand that the provision of approval from SCCEC along with the requirement to pay the NPV compensation, as well as fair, ecologically prudent compensatory afforestation should be reinstated,” he said.
There are exemptions in the bill for eco-tourism resorts and silviculture operations and the establishment of zoos and safaris.
“The bill proposes that forest areas can be leased to private or corporate entities for afforestation purposes to meet the target of creating a carbon sink of 2.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2030. This will mean the commodification of forest resources to help the corporate sector access the global carbon market. This provision needs to be rescinded,” said Vaishali Patkar, a member of ASAP.
Swapna Narayan, co-ordinator of ASAP, said, “The FCA bill states that forest clearance is not needed for projects that fall within 100 km of an international boundary or line of control. It means that the ecologically rich and biodiverse areas along 15,000 km of international border are open for destruction in the name of strategic projects.”
“The entire Himalayan region, the eastern states, the fragile islands of Andaman and Nicobar, and the only remaining forests in the Western Ghats on the west coast can be diverted without any checks and balances,” he said.
“Similarly, to harness the rich forests of Central India, the FCA bill states that forests up to 10 hectares can be cleared by paramilitary forces in left-wing affected areas, implying that none of these forests is to be left to be conserved or protected; and that they are meant only for resource extraction and exploitation. These blanket sanctions must be removed and the bill must revert to its current position in the law,” he added.