Nagpur | Nov 05, 2016: The Regional Empowered Committee (REC), Nagpur, having jurisdiction over Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, has approved diversion of 351.71 hectare forest land during the first half of 2016. Three-fourth of this area is for linear projects, like roads, canals etc.

In six meetings from January to June 2016, the ministry of environment, forest and climate change’s (MoEF&CC) REC recommended 14 projects out of 26 proposals it considered. Of these, one is from Chhattisgarh and 13 are in Maharashtra. Incidentally, no project has been rejected as yet.

“It seems action has shifted from the Centre to the region, when it comes to forest diversion for small as well as large linear projects,” said Pushp Jain, director of Delhi-based EIA Resource & Response Centre (ERC), which keeps a close watch on forest clearances and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports.

RECs have been constituted at each of the 10 regional offices of the MoEFCC, under a regional head. The panels have two officials of the regional office and three non-official experts in forestry and allied disciplines as members.

An REC is competent to either agree in-principle or reject proposals involving diversion of forest area above 5 hectares and up to 40 hectares, except proposals for regularization of encroachments, mining (including renewal of mining leases), and hydel projects.

It is seen that linear projects (new roads, widening of existing highways, transmission lines, railway, water supply lines, and optical fibre cabling etc) are conspicuous in approvals. Of the 351 hectare cleared, three-fourth of the area (255 hectare) has been recommended for six such linear projects.

For example, one transmission line project — Aurangabad-Padghe Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (APGCIL) — involving 146 hectare forest land has been recommended. Likewise, another linear proposal of 400KV from Dherand to Palmbeach transmission line in Raigad and Thane, involving 97ha of forest land is under consideration.

Jain says MoEFCC has been liberalizing rules for forest diversion for linear projects for quite some time. Time and again, certain road projects have been allowed exemption from some processes of environmental clearance like scoping, public consultation etc.

REC member and environmentalist Suresh Chopne too admits the ministry has simplified rules. “I have been raising objections wherever necessary. Several project proponents in Chhattisgarh have been asked to come again with more documents,” Chopne said.

(Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/)