Latest news with #ForestConservationActof1980
New Indian Express
10-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
ST panel denies info on Great Nicobar project
NEW DELHI: The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has declined to entertain a Right to Information (RTI) application seeking disclosure about the impact of the Great Nicobar Island mega infrastructure project on local tribes and the relocation of villages from a tiger reserve. The NCST cited parliamentary privileges and other legal exemptions as reasons for the refusal. The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has appointed a new 'overarching committee' to review its own recommendations regarding the environmental clearance given to the Andaman and Nicobar mega project. According to experts, the committee may undermine the integrity of the one established under the directives of the National Green Tribunal (NGT). On Monday, the MoEFCC-appointed high-powered committee (HPC) submitted a report in a sealed cover to the NGT's six-member bench, led by Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava. The HPC was constituted in April 2023 following an NGT order to reassess the environmental clearance granted for the mega project. Reports indicated that the environmental clearance had been issued hastily, neglecting crucial factors and violating regulations such as the Coastal Regulation Zone, the Forest Conservation Act of 1980, and the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. This mega project represents an `81,000 crore large-scale infrastructure initiative that entails the construction of a major transhipments port, an international airport, a township, and a power plant, which involve redirecting 130.75 sq km of forests and relocating villages. The project has faced backlash due to its potential environmental impact and concerns regarding the displacement of indigenous communities. Ashish Kothari, founder of Kalpavriksha, an environment action group, has challenged the environmental clearance in the NGT.
Indian Express
02-07-2025
- General
- Indian Express
GMLR twin tunnel: Centre grants final nod for diversion of SGNP forest land to BMC
Over a year since procuring the in-principle (Stage I) approval, Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC) on Tuesday granted the final approval for diversion of 19.43 hectares of forest land at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The clearance has now paved the way for the construction of the twin tunnels, which is being developed within the ambit of the ambitious Goregaon Mulund Link Road (GMLR) project. Pegged at a cost of nearly Rs 6500, the GMRL is an ambitious project which aims to alleviate congestion by linking Goregaon in the western suburbs to Mulund in the eastern suburbs. A crucial part of the GMLR project are the 6.65-km long twin tunnels which will start from the Film City in the western suburbs and open near Mulund's Amar Junction, which currently houses a huge slum pocket. The GMLR tunnels will surpass beneath the SGNP, covering a complex topography of hillocks, forest and farmlands. With the project slated to be constructed through the protected forest lands of SGNP, the state government had sought the Union ministry's approval. Earlier on January 2, 2024, the MOEFCC granted the in-principle clearances for the proposal after examination. On Tuesday, the Union ministry granted the final approval for the diversion of 19.43 hectares of reserves forest area to the BMC under the section 2 of the Forest Conservation Act of 1980. Stage I (in-principle) approval from the central government is the first step towards diverting forest land for non-forest purposes, followed by Stage II clearances. Officials maintained that even as the land parcel has been transferred to the civic body, it continues to hold the legal status of forest land. With the tunnel raking under the SGNP — at a depth of 20 to 160 metres — no trees are expected to be impacted during the course of the project construction. Meanwhile, the civic body has prepared an alternative afforestation plan as per the Forest Act. For the total forest land acquired, over 19.5 hectares of non-forest area in Chandrapur district will undergo plantation and maintenance. Being tucked in an ecologically sensitive zone, the GMLR project has also undergone a slew of studies ranging including Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), environmental, biological studies by Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) etc. as well as engineering, geotechnical studies. Since the tunnel is aligned between the Tulsi and Vehar lakes, the project has also undergone hydrological studies. Upon completion, the GMLR project is projected to be estimated to reduce the travel time between the eastern and western suburbs from 75 minutes to 25 minutes. The project is estimated to be completed by October 2028.
New Indian Express
08-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Karnataka to ask Centre, apex court to ensure justice to farmers cultivating forest land
CHIKKAMAGALURU: The state government is vested with powers to drop lands sanctioned prior to the notification issued under Section 4 of the Forest Act, 1963. But to ensure justice to farmers who have been cultivating such lands with houses on them for the past 40 years after the notification, a proposal will be submitted to the Centre and the Supreme Court, Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre said on Friday. At a meeting with MLAs, forest and revenue officers from Chikkamagaluru district at Vikas Soudha in Bengaluru, he said the Centre and the Supreme Court will be urged not to clear human settlements and cultivated lands within the deemed forests. Instead, compensatory land should be given to the forest department, the minister added. In some cases, provisions under Section 17 have not been implemented even after 70 years of the notification issued under Section 4. This has become a hurdle in dropping such lands in the forest limits after the enforcement of the Forest Conservation Act of 1980. Therefore, it has become inevitable to submit the appeal to the Centre and the Supreme Court, Khandre said.
Hans India
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Section 4 crisis to be resolved soon; will appeal to Centre, SC: Khandre
Bengaluru: Under Section 4 of the Forest Act 1963, the government has the option to abandon the land allocated before the notification, and a special proposal will be submitted to the Centre and the Supreme Court to provide justice to the people who have built houses and are cultivating for 30-40 years after the notification, said Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwara B Khandre. Presiding over a meeting held with Chikkamagaluru district MLAs and forest and revenue department officials at Vikas Soudha, he said that a request will be submit-ted to the Supreme Court and the Centre to give an alternative to the designated forest with residential areas, patta land, etc. and the land allocated after the Section 4 notification, and to abandon this land from the forest area. In many cases, even though Section 4 has been notified for 60-70 years, Section 17 is still not in effect. After the implementation of the Forest Conservation Act of 1980, it has become difficult to abandon such forests. Therefore, it is imperative to appeal to the Center and the Supreme Court. Chikkamagaluru district is in the Western Ghats and there is a rich forest area here. There is 300-400 acres of land in a single survey number, and there is confusion because there is no joint survey. In this context, he told the officials to conduct a joint survey of forest and revenue land and try to resolve the problem quickly. The survey number in the certificate submitted to the Supreme Court as a deemed forest also includes houses, government schools, government buildings, and land plots. Now that we have finally got the opportunity to submit a report to the Supreme Court, we can submit a petition to the Supreme Court by conducting a proper survey and determining the amount of land eligible for abandonment, and by providing revenue land elsewhere as an alternative and cultivating a forest there, Ishwar Khandre Forest Minister also instructed that the deemed forest certificate, which was al-ready submitted to the Supreme Court in 2022, be uploaded on the department's of-ficial website to make it available to the public. Responding to the request of the MLAs that the current 10 km buffer zone around the bear sanctuary in Arsikere limits of Hassan district is also causing hardship to the farmers of Chikkamagaluru in the border area, the Minister said that a proposal has been submitted to reduce this limit to 1 km. He assured that this problem will be resolved soon. Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar B Khandre, who convened a meeting to discuss the problems being faced by the common people due to Section 4 of the Forest Act and the affected forest notification in Chikkamagaluru district, was thanked by MLAs Rajegowda, Thammanna, Nayana Motamma, Srinivas and Anand who participated in the meeting. Forest Force Chief Meenakshi Negi, Chief Wildlife Warden Subhash Malkade, PCCF BP Ravi, Biswajit Mishra, Chikkamagaluru District Commissioner Meena Na-garaj and others participated in the meeting.
Time of India
31-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Minister recommends suspension in forest case
disciplinary action Supreme Court plea HMT forest land Indian Forest Service Indian Administrative Service Cabinet approval real estate firms Real estate firms have constructed hundreds of flats on it. This raises serious questions about how such usage was permitted – Eshwar BK, Minister Plan for urban park Karnataka Forest, Ecology, and Environment Minister Eshwar B Khandre announced that disciplinary action has been recommended against four officials, two retired and two serving officers from the(IFS) and(IAS), for their involvement in the controversial proposal submitted to the Supreme Court withoutKhandre stated that over `14,000 crore worth of HMT land, which falls under forest classification, has not been officially converted for non-forest purposes. 'As per multiple Supreme Court judgments and the Forest Conservation Act of 1980, this land still qualifies as forest. However,have constructed hundreds of flats on it, film and television shoots are being held, and the land is being used for commercial purposes. This raises serious questions about how such usage was permitted,' he asked why no action had been taken seven months after notices were issued to the officials involved, Khandre responded, 'This forest land under HMT is the property of 7 crore Kannadigas. Yet, a few officers, without bringing it to the then Forest Minister's notice or seeking prior Cabinet approval, filed an Interlocutory Application (IA) in the Supreme Court requesting denotification.'He confirmed that notices had been served to four officials and that he had formally recommended action to the Chief Minister, including the suspension of a senior IFS officer. In a related development, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests R Gokul has written to the CBI seeking protection, alleging that he is being made a scapegoat for penalising ruling party MLAs in the Belikeri illegal mining case. Responding to this, Khandre dismissed Gokul's claims as 'completely false accusations against the government.'The Minister revealed that he had written to the Additional Chief Secretary on September 24, 2024, instructing that action be taken against the officials who filed the IA without Cabinet approval. The Belikeri judgment was handed down a month later, in October 2024. 'Gokul is now levelling false charges against the government to cover up his misconduct. This can be seen as either misbehaviour or an intimidation tactic,' said also revealed that he inspected the HMT land and found around 280 acres of dense forest still intact. 'Despite this, the IA submitted to the Supreme Court a false claim that the land had lost its forest characteristics. If Gokul truly believed in the sanctity of the land, why didn't he write to the Chief Minister instead of the CBI?' he questioned.
