Nagpur: At a time when forests are considered as valuable carbon sinks, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF & CC) is on a forest land diversion spree by recommending massive 91,798 hectare area (918 sqkm) in just eight months from January-August 2017.

The diverted forest area towards 70 projects is equivalent to four times the area of Maharashtra side of Pench Tiger Reserve (257 sqkm). A review of the FAC minutes by Pushp Jain & Terence Jorge of the EIA Resource and Response Centre (ERC), a Delhi-based resource and response centre that keeps a watch on the environmental and forest clearance processes, shows that in May, 61,278 hectare (613 sqkm) was recommended in one meeting alone.

“FAC seems to be in a tearing hurry to divert forest land. This can be gauged from the fact that in August three meetings of FAC were held to clear projects involving 15,027 hectare area. Interestingly, the compilation of area excludes proposals up to 40 hectare which are dealt with at the regional level,” said Jain.

During the period, FAC considered 134 agenda items which included some policy matters and discussion of reports. Some of the proposals appeared in more than one meeting. As stated earlier, 70 projects have been recommended for diversion, of which only two projects have been declined. Rest of the proposals require more information and reports and have been deferred.

Among the major proposals that were cleared included the controversial river linking Ken-Betwa main project which had diversion of 6,017 hectare of forest land in favour of National Water Development Agency (NWDA), in Chhattarpur near Panna and Tikamgarh in Madhya Pradesh.

Jain said the project is going to cause irreparable damage to Panna Tiger Reserve. “The project is simply ‘senseless’ as no account of alternative sites was considered and study does not recommend the project,” he said.

ERC opposed Ken-Betwa proposals as they are illegal in nature as per the section 35 (6) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and a great loss of forest and wildlife.

ERC’s Jorge said the recommended projects doesn’t include 695.72 hectare forest land for limestone mining at Shedwai in Chandrapur district. “But this was done owing to legal complications and not considering the area which falls in the Tadoba-Kawal tiger corridor,” said Jorge.

FAC did not shy away from recommending Adani’s Kanchewani ash park coming up in 142 hectare area in Tiroda. The proposed ash research park will apparently be used to dump ash. In Maharashtra, during the same period, 1,596 hectare forest has been diverted.

Besides, FAC quietly recommended Andhra Pradesh capital region infrastructure involving 12,445 hectare area in the meeting on August. It was not even part of the main agenda. This proposal has exaggerated demand for forest land.

One of the largest forest clearances granted in May 2017 is for Duliajan petroleum mining lease in Arunachal Pradesh that involves 540 sq km forest area in favour of Oil India Limited (OIL) in Changlang district.

