Govt may clear non-forest projects built in Aravallis

The Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) will consider for ex-post facto clearance for various non-forest projects that have come up in the Aravallis, the minutes of a forest advisory committee (FAC) meeting have revealed, prompting experts to say it could clear the way for constructions deemed illegal on the protected lands to be regularised again.

- Jayashree Nandi

The approvals will be subject to payment of penal levies, and compensatory afforestation, the minutes added. Environmentalists, however, fear that this could lead to the despoiling of the Aravallisone of the oldest mountain ranges in the world.

Lands covered under special sections 4 and 5 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), 1900 should be treated as forests, the Supreme Court had ruled in July 2022. Special orders under Section 4 of PLPA are restrictive provisions issued by the state government to prevent deforestation of a specified area that could lead to soil erosion.

On November 29 this year, MoEFCC notified the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rules, 2023 to implement the provisions of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980. The new law came into force on December 1, and the ministry has issued several guidelines for the implementation of the amendment act.