Forest clearance norms

The proposed move of the Central Government to exempt infrastructure projects along with the international border areas from the purview of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 will have huge ramifications for the northeast region. The region with a 98% international border is also a biodiversity hotspot and the absence of checks and balances in the form of prior approval under the Act may result in rampant felling of trees adding to climate change worries. A public consultation paper released by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on Monday has listed several other exemptions which seek to facilitate easier use of forest land for non-forest use. The 15-day-time period given for public opinion on the proposed exemption is too short, given the intricacies of implications of using vast tracts of forest land for such projects and other non-forest use. The primary argument advanced by the government is that obtaining approval for non-forestry use of forest land, many times, strategic and security projects of national importance get delayed resulting in a setback to the development of such infrastructure at critical locations. There is no denying the fact that the development of infrastructure along the international border areas is critical for protecting the borders and delay in such strategic projects is unwarranted. The delay in granting due forest clearance to such projects is more systemic and can be addressed by strengthening the system. The average time taken for forest clearance has now been reduced to 200 days against 540 days and 108 days for environment clearance from 600 days taken before 2014. There is always scope for further reduction in time for such clearance through the adoption of new technologies to expedite scientific investigations, surveys and assessment of forest land required for a project. The Central government also seeks to exempt all lands acquired by the Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Road, Transport & Highways before 1980 from the purview of the Forest Conservation Act. The consultation paper states that in most cases these ministries also acquired the Right of Way (RoW) to set up railway lines and build roads. Part of the land was used for the purpose it was acquired before 1980 and the remaining part of the acquired land was left as such for future constructions/expansions and trees or forest existing on the leftover acquired land were, thus, left as such (before 1980) and further the blank areas were planted under different government schemes, it adds. The Railways, National Highway Authority of India or Public Works Departments are required to take prior approval of the Central government as well as pay stipulated compensatory value for such land for non-forestry use as plantations that came upon such land were notified as protected forests. More than who owned the RoW over these lands four-decade back, these protected forests contributing to climate change mitigation deserves to be taken into considerations when the entire world has focused its attention on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. The IPCC report has cautioned that climate change is real and human activities have warmed the planet as evident from the fact that the global surface temperature has risen faster in the past few decades affecting many weather and climate extremes in almost every region on earth. The forest and tree cover of India is 24.56% of its geographical area and the country is far from achieving the target of increasing the area under forest cover to one-third of the geographical area. As the northeast region accounts for 25% of the country's forest cover, prior forest clearance act as safety valves against indiscriminate diversion of forests while executing infrastructure projects in the region. Consequences of granting infrastructure projects exemption from the purview of prior forest clearance can be imagined from rampant destruction of pristine forest due to coal mining carried out in Tikak open cast project of Coal India Limited in Saleki proposed Reserved Forest under Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve without prior approval from the National Board of Wildlife. Proposal to exempt Extended Reach Drilling technology which enables exploration or extraction of oil and natural gas deep beneath the forest land by making drills from outside the forest area from the purview of the forest conservation Act is hasty. Concerns are being raised over proposed ERD wells inside Dibru Saikhowa National Park following the Baghjan blowout and fire in the vicinity park boundary. Baghjan blowout which caused huge damage to the environment is a grim reminder against rushing to a conclusion about the safety of ERD wells inside a national park. The unsettled debate over the trade-off between development projects and environment protection has assumed a new dimension in the wake of the IPCC Report on climate change. This new dimension cannot be ignored when discussing the impact of the exemptions proposed by the Central government on forests and environment.