Centre to weigh in after Maha seeks to use pvt forest land for residential project
Private forests are forests which are not property of the government but meet the characteristics of forests.
New Delhi: The Union environment ministry’s Nagpur regional office has sought clarity on whether residential projects can be allowed in Maharshtra’s private forests, a move prompted by a request from the state government to greenlight one such project.
This is significant because in January, the ministry allowed homestead owners in Mussoorie and Goa’s private and deemed forests to construct residential buildings, although the ban on construction of institutional and commercial buildings remained, according to a letter sent to the Uttarakhand and Goa governments.
In a meeting of the environment ministry’s Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) on June 7, the issue on private forests raised by the Nagpur office was discussed according to minutes available published on Parivesh website recently. FAC has not taken a call on the matter yet.
FAC has asked Maharashtra’s nodal officer to make a detailed presentation giving detailed account of the dispensation provided in the Mussoorie (Uttarakhand) and Goa and proposals in respect of Maharashtra before the Committee in its next meeting.
Private forests are forests which are not property of the government but meet the characteristics of forests.
“The above proposal was considered by the Regional Empowered Committee at Regional Office, Nagpur in its meeting held on April 24 and the Committee while considering the proposal decided to seek clarification from the MoEFCC whether such residential proposals proposed to be taken up in the restored private forest may be considered by the REC or otherwise so as to inform the State Government on applicability of rules position on such proposals,” the minutes stated.
The relevant provisions of the rule 10(3)(ii) read with the provisions of rule 10(5)(ii) of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rules, 2023 provide that the Regional Empowered Committee shall examine the proposals giving due regard to the various aspects mentioned including that the proposed use of the forest land is not for any non-site specific purpose such as agricultural purpose, office or residential purpose or for the rehabilitation of persons displaced for any reason.
Guidelines issued under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 also state that utilization of forest area for establishing industries, construction of residential colonies, institutes, rehabilitation of displaced persons, etc. are non-sitespecific activities and cannot be considered on forest land as a rule.
But, in exceptional circumstances, residential projects up to one hectare, can be considered for approval under the Forest Conservation Amendment Act 2023 or Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 by the MoEF&CC, subject to appropriate justification and recommendation by the concerned State Government and the Regional Office of the MoEFCC, the minutes added.
REC Nagpur raised this query while considering a proposal of the Maharashtra government involving diversion of 10.685 ha of forest land in favour of Sumeet R. Bhalotia and others, Thane for construction of a residential project.
“If the project is for a greenfield residential project, the diversion of forest should definitely not be allowed. Also, 10 ha is a huge area which cannot be justified as a bona fide case. Not only will there be consequences for biodiversity and green cover, but it will also set a very wrong precedent if such permission is given,” said Debadityo Sinha, Senior Resident Fellow and Lead of the Climate & Ecosystems team at Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.
According to experts, the exemptions were given to private forests in Uttarakhand and Goa earlier this year because the construction, previously not allowed, was made possible because of the latest amendment of the Forest Conservation Act or the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam which exempts unrecorded deemed forests and private plantations from its purview, removing the protection that such areas enjoyed under the older law. These exemptions are also incorporated in a handbook of consolidated guidelines on the amendment.
According to an MoEFCC note on forest clearance, procedure to obtain prior approval of Central Government under the Forest (Conservation) Act,1980 for use of forest land for non-forest purpose is same irrespective of the ownership of the forest land.
Maharashtra has a forest cover of 11.4% of total geographical area as per Forest Survey of India. As per the official data, the forest department holds 11,495 hectares of private forest land with the highest 4365.89 hectares in Maval tehsil followed by 3,722 hectares in Mulshi tehsil. Around one-fourth of this land, over 3,000 hectares, is under dispute over ownership before the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court, HT reported on November 23, 2023.
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