State govt gives nod for diversion of reserve forest land for road projects in Pune
The Maharashtra state government has granted final approval for the diversion of reserved forest land in four tehsils of Pune district--Indapur, Daund, Shirur and Purandar. A Government Resolution (GR) formalising the decision was issued on May 9.
The diversion was mainly proposed for district and state highway construction or extension purposes. The conditions for the approval included compensatory afforestation, alternative land transfer to the forest department, and also obtaining necessary wildlife permission from the competent authority if required, said officials.
Deepak Pawar, assistant conservator of forest, Pune division, said,'I have not received the order copy yet. We will share more details after checking the details mentioned in the order copy.'
As per the GR, the Maharashtra government in 2023 received proposals from the additional principal chief conservator of forests and nodal officer, Maharashtra state. These proposals included diversion of reserve forest land for road repair, widening and even construction work. The government has provided an in-principle approval earlier, and after careful consideration of the proposal and compliance report, the state government has issued the final approval for diversion of reserve forest land under Section 2 of Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980.
The GR, along with 29 conditions, also mentioned that the legal status of the land will remain unchanged, and forest land will be handed over only after the required non-forest land for the project is handed over to the user agency.
The other significant conditions include: compensatory afforestation shall be taken up by the forest department at the cost of the user agency. The forest department is also directed to charge the Net Present Value (NPV) for the 0.09 ha.
Forest land is to be diverted under this proposal from the user agency. The conditions also mentioned that the user agency shall obtain wildlife clearance, if required.
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