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90,001.5 ha of forest land approved for diversion in five years: Govt tells RS
According to the ‘State of Forest Report 2021’ of the Forest Survey of India, the country’s forest cover is 71.37 million ha. The proportion of area diverted in five years may seem minuscule compared to India’s total forest cover, mainly because of the ambiguous definition of forests used by the Forest Survey of India (FSI)
The diversion of around 90,000 hectares of forest land for development projects was approved between January 2018 and April 2023, Union environment ministry has informed the Rajya Sabha.
The most was from Madhya Pradesh- 19730.36 ha, followed by Odisha- 13304.79 ha, Arunachal Pradesh- 7448.34 ha and Gujarat- 8064.76 ha, even relatively smaller states and Union Territories such as Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Manipur recorded diversion of 100 ha and 603.75 ha respectively, the ministry informed.
HT reported on April 7 that a forest area measuring over double the size of the Mumbai suburban district was diverted for various infrastructure and development projects in the past five years, citing the Union environment ministry’s reply in the Rajya Sabha in April.
In April, the ministry said, 88,903.80 hectares (889.03 sq km) of forest area had been diverted in the past five years mostly for road projects (194.24 sq km) followed by mining (188.47 sq km). That number has now increased to 90,001.15 ha.
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Andaman and Nicobar forest approval data do not reflect around 13,000 ha of forest land to be diverted for the proposed township and area development project on Great Nicobar. The forest clearance for the project for diversion of 130.75 sq km (13,000 ha) was granted on October 27 last year. Forest clearance documents, however, are not in the public domain because the project is strategic and of national importance, according to officials.
On July 27, responding to a question by MP Vivek K Tankha on the percentage of natural vegetation diverted for development projects in the past five years; and the details of compensatory afforestation which have been undertaken in the last five years by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Border Road Organization (BRO) and state public works departments (PWDs), region-wise details thereof, junior environment minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey said a total of 90,001.5 ha has been approved for diversion in five years. He, however, did not provide the percentage of vegetation cover lost.
According to the ‘State of Forest Report 2021’ of the FSI, the country’s forest cover is 71.37 million ha. The proportion of area diverted in five years may seem minuscule compared to India’s total forest cover, mainly because of the ambiguous definition of forests used by the Forest Survey of India (FSI). All land of more than one ha area with tree canopy density of more than 10% which includes parks, orchards, plantations, gardens etc., is considered a forest for the enumeration. The diversion, however, only concerns notified forests.
The large-scale diversion of notified forests is worrying, experts say. “The proposals for diversion of forest land for non-forestry purposes are considered under the provisions of Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 on a case-to-case basis as per the rules and guidelines made thereunder. As per the information available, a total of 90,001.15 ha of forest land has been approved for non-forest use under Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 from 01.01.2018 to 31.03.2023,” the response by Choubey said.
“The Compensatory Afforestation against various forest diversion proposals is carried out by the state forest departments and not by the user agencies such as NHAI, BRO and state PWDs. Further, the land is a state subject and the User agency-wise record of Compensatory Afforestation carried out in the field is not maintained at the level of the Ministry,” he added.
In response to another question by Trinamool Congress MP Jawhar Sircar on the number of trees that are expected to be felled for the Great Nicobar project, Choubey said around 9.64 lakh trees are estimated to be felled.
“The estimated number of trees to be felled in the forest area earmarked for development in the Great Nicobar Project is 9.64 lakh. Further, it is expected about 15% of the development area will remain as green and open spaces. Thus, potential tree felling would be less than 9.64 lakhs. Moreover, this tree felling will be done in a phased manner,” he said on August 3.
“Since the scope of plantation in Andaman and Nicobar Islands is very limited, therefore Compensatory Afforestation in the arid landscape and the vicinity of the urban areas would provide greater ecological value. The Government of Haryana has agreed to provide an area of 261.5 sq. km for Compensatory Afforestation,” Choubey added.
The scale of forest diversion is particularly important in view of the Rajya Sabha passing the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill 2023, which provides for several exemptions to forests from the purview of the act.
“The regulatory framework enabling forest diversions rests on the premise that the loss of land and tree cover will be compensated for. An increase in approvals that allow the use of forest land for other non-forest uses, adds pressure on revenue, common and private land that have already prevailing rights and ecological value to be made available to offset the loss. Any regulatory framework that extends the footprint of impacts, as in the present case, runs the risks of creating more losses than gains,” said Kanchi Kohli, a legal and policy researcher.
