The Center requested state governments, UT administrations and all concerned to share their comments and suggestions on the proposed amendments to the 1980 Forest (Conservation) Act, within 15 days. .

The Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change has proposed amendments to effectively adapt to current circumstances, in particular for accelerated integration of conservation and development.

The ministry has proposed to exempt land that is initially acquired for non-forestry purposes before October 25, 1980 from the scope of the law because a land agency (Rail, NHAI, PWD, etc.) is required to obtain approval under the law as well as paying stipulated compensatory levies such as net present value (NPV), compensatory afforestation (CA), for the use of those lands that were originally acquired for non-forest purposes.

The ministry plans to introduce an enabling provision in the Act to keep intact certain virgin forests with rich ecological values ​​for a specific period.

The development of infrastructure along international border areas is crucial to keep our borders intact and maintain the sovereignty of the country. Given the current scenario of obtaining approval for non-forest use of forest land, many times strategic and security projects of national importance are delayed, resulting in delay in the development of such infrastructure. in critical locations. ” Whether these projects should be exempt from obtaining prior central government approval under the provisions of the law and allow states to authorize non-forest use of forest land for the implementation of these strategic projects and security measures that must be completed within a given period of time, ” the ministry said.

Posted on: Tuesday October 05, 2021 09:03 IST