It is no secret that development and infrastructure, most of the times come at the expense of the environment. Development v/s environment has and always will be a divisive topic.?
But there is no doubt that the rapid pace at which the forest is being diverted for various projects is indeed a matter of concern.?
BCCL
Between 2015-18, a whopping 20,000 hectares of forest land, almost the size of Kolkata has been used for developmental activities such as mining, thermal power plants, dams, road, railways and irrigation projects.
According to the data given by the government in the Parliament last month, a total of 20,314.12 hectares of forest land was diverted in three years 2015-2018 (till December 13, 2018). During this period, the government received a total of 4,552 proposals and of those 1,280 (28.11 percent) got approved.
CCL
Telangana topped the list with 5,137.38 hectares of forest land diverted, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 4,093.38 hectares and Odisha with 3,386.67 hectares of forest area diverted. The three states together account for over 62 percent (12,617.43 hectares) of the total forest land diverted during the said three-year period.?
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Under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, forest areas can be diverted by the environment ministry for non-forestry purposes like mining. In lieu of the land, money is collected by the government which is then used by the authorities for afforestation.?
But the diversion of forest land for developmental projects has always been a contentious issue and in the past 10 years, the opposition to diversion has increased with environmentalists repeatedly alleging that the union environment ministry only works like a rubber stamp clearing whatever projects come to it, seeking diversion of the forest land.?
BCCL
However the ministry officials say this is untrue. "Many proposals are in different stages of approval. Contrary to popular belief, the ministry is very sensitive to giving clearance for diverting forests for non-forestry purposes," said an environment ministry official on the condition of anonymity.?
The reasons for diversion of forest area varied from irrigation, hydropower, road and railway projects to defence, mining, transmission line, schools and wind power projects. Of the total forest area diverted during the said time, the highest amount was diverted for irrigation projects, followed by mining and thermal power plants.?
"Proposals for diversion of forest land for non-forestry purposes under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 are received in the ministry from the concerned states and UTs (union territories). The proposals are examined in the ministry (MoEFCC) and after due diligence the proposals are either approved or rejected within the framework of Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and its supporting rules and guidelines," said Minister of State in the MoEFCC Mahesh Sharma while replying to a query in Parliament in December.?
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According to another set of data of the MoEFCC, since the enactment of the FC Act 1980, nearly four decades ago, a total of about 1.51 million hectares has been diverted for 27,144 projects. To put it in perspective, it means forest land equivalent to over ten times the size of India's national capital has been diverted in the last four decades for various kind of developmental projects.?
BCCL
Environmentalists argue that they are not against country's development but against the procedures and poor monitoring of the conditions on the basis of which such projects are cleared.?
"Monitoring of conditions on basis of which forest land is diverted is an important factor but it is poorly done. There are enough cases to indicate that India's environment ministry does not have the adequate wherewithal to monitor the land it diverts and the numerous conditions they put," said Sanjay Upadhyay, a senior environmental lawyer in the Supreme Court and managing partner of the Enviro Legal Defence Firm.?
"The mandate of the ministry is to be the conscience keeper for every piece of forest land and how it is to be protected. Somehow, we have got lost in the money that forest diversion brings! Forest and forest land are actually irreplaceable, let's explore all alternatives before losing even an inch" he added.?