Govt. moots easier clearance for forest land use
The Hindu
No prior nod will be needed for security, border infra projects under changes to Forest Conservation Act
The government has proposed absolving agencies involved in national security projects and border infrastructure projects from obtaining prior forest clearance from the Centre as part of amendments to the existing Forest Conservation Act (FCA). The FCA that first came in 1980 and was amended in 1988, requires such permission.
The proposed amendment is part of a larger rationalising of existing forest laws, the government has said. The document is open to public discussion for 15 days after which it could be readied for Cabinet and Parliamentary approval.
There is also a plan in the document that is now available on the MoEF website, to exempt land acquired before 1980 — before the FCA came into effect — by public sector bodies such as the Railways. Currently, the document notes, there was “strong resentment” among several ministries on how the Act was being interpreted over the right of way of railways, highways.