Forest Clearance

Odisha gets nod to clear 1,524.17 ha of forest land for irrigation project

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has approved the diversion of 1,524.17 hectare of forest land for the construction of an irrigation project in Odisha's Nayagarh district, officials said on Tuesday. In a statement, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said the state government has been waiting for the approval from the Centre for the last 30 years. After the completion of the Brutanga project, irrigation facilities can be provided to 23,000 hectares of land, it said. "On the basis of the compliance report furnished by the state government... final approval of central government under Section 2 of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 is hereby granted for non-forestry use of 1524.17 hectares of forest land for construction of Brutanga irrigation project," read a letter issued by Assistant Inspector General of Forests Dheeraj Mittal on Monday. As per the conditions set by the MoEF for the approval, the legal status of the diverted forest land shall remain .

'Over 5 mn large farmland trees vanished in India between 2018 and 2022'

More than 50 lakh large farmland trees vanished between 2018 and 2022 in India, partly due to altered cultivation practices, revealing a "concerning trajectory," new research published in the journal Nature Sustainability has found. Researchers said that "an observable trend was emerging" wherein agroforestry systems are being replaced with paddy rice fields, even as a certain loss rate could be found to be natural. Large and mature trees within these agroforestry fields are removed, and trees are now being cultivated within separate block plantations typically with lower ecological value, they said. Block plantations, usually involving fewer species of trees, were found to have increased in numbers which some villagers from Telangana, Haryana, Maharashtra and other states confirmed via interviews. The team, including researchers from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, explained that the decision to remove trees is often driven by perceived low benefits of the trees, coupled wi

Uphold definition of forests as per 1996 judgement: SC tells states, UTs

This means that for now, States and Union Territories will have to go by the dictionary definition of the word forest to determine whether any work can be approved on any land

17% of 756 projects delayed by more than 5 yrs due to delay in clearances

As many as 132 out of the 756 delayed projects or 17.4 per cent projects are running behind schedule by five years and more

Forest fires destroyed 13,000 hectares of land in Chile this year: Minister

Up to 1,587 forest fires have razed more than 13,000 hectares of land in Chile this year, Agriculture Minister Esteban Valenzuela said

Forest clearance to explore mineral blocks likely to be scrapped

Reconnaissance Permit (RP) is granted for preliminary prospecting of a mineral through regional, aerial, geophysical or geochemical surveys and geological mapping

Central Zonal Council meet focuses on forest clearance, banking

Amit Shah called upon the states to adhere to the timeline of 2 months for completion of heinous offences

How exemption of 13 railway projects puts wildlife sanctuaries at risk

The Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980 prohibits the use of any forest land for non-forest activities

Mine owners get six months more to obtain forest clearance

The new deadline is September 30