SC green order has HP in a bind : The Tribune India

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SC green order has HP in a bind

There could finally be a stop to the diversion of vast tracts of forest land and indiscriminate felling of trees under the garb of development activities and creating the necessary infrastructure, which has visibly resulted in denudation of the hills.

SC green order has HP in a bind

Stumps of natural growth to make way for development Tribune photos: Kamaljeet & Amit kanwar



Pratibha Chauhan in Shimla

There could finally be a stop to the diversion of vast tracts of forest land and indiscriminate felling of trees under the garb of development activities and creating the necessary infrastructure, which has visibly resulted in denudation of the hills.

With a raging debate between those echoing environmental concerns and the common man who is asserting his right to have access to facilities, the March 11, 2019 Supreme Court order, restraining diversion of forest land for any other purpose, is bound to have far-reaching implications for the hill economy. The order has even put on hold all approved projects like construction of road, schools, dispensaries or electricity transmission line on forest land, where the felling of trees is yet to be done. The order has virtually sent the government into a tizzy; it could face public wrath on account of putting on hold all approved projects. 

Even though the final order will be given on April 1, 2019, undoubtedly, the SC order will go a long way in protecting the valuable forest wealth of the state and, most importantly, shielding it from the mafia, which very often enjoys the political patronage, be it any regime. Despite stringent laws, there have been several cases of illegal felling of trees — be it in the vicinity of urban areas like Shimla and Dharamsala or interior parts like Bharmour in Chamba, Seraj in Mandi or Chopal in Shimla. There have been some glaring incidents where 455 trees were axed in Tara Devi, on the outskirts of the state capital, almost 500 in Koti forest in Shimla and many more in Mcleodganj.

The aspect of independent power producers executing hydel projects, felling hundreds of trees, far more than allowed to be axed, is another reason for the court’s concern. The expert committee appointed by the apex court has brought to light all these facts after conducting field visits.

Blanket ban

The Supreme Court in its interim order of March 11, 2013 has clearly remarked that authorities must ensure that destruction of the valuable and precious forests of Himachal Pradesh does not take place in any manner. To make this happen, the apex court put a blanket ban on diversion of forest lands for any non-forestry activity under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) and Forest Conservation Act (FCA) till next date of hearing, which falls on April 1.

It was the Himachal Pradesh Government which had moved court seeking permission for selective felling to enable regeneration and removal of diseased and decaying trees. It is in pursuance of this plea that experimental silviculture is being undertaken in three forest divisions of the state. 

Amid reports of illegal felling being undertaken by both government agencies as well as individuals on the pretext of development , the court also put on hold the felling of trees where permission has been granted by the Divisional Forest Officers (DFO) but felling is yet to take place. The DFOs have also been restrained from exercising their powers of allowing diversion of up to one hectare of forest land for other purposes, with a maximum of 75 tree felling under Section 3(2) of FRA, 2006 till next date.

The other view

There is, however, a counter view to the issue, which is reflected in the opinion of the elected representatives, who term the FCA 1980 as the biggest “hurdle” to development. “Roads are the lifeline in a hill state with very limited rail and air connectivity. “The FCA results in unnecessary hindrances, delays and objections, thereby depriving the general public of the benefits of development,” is the refrain of all MLAs cutting across party lines in the Vidhan Sabha, during every session.

“The citizens of Himachal have a right to have access to facilities like roads, hospital, school, irrigation schemes like any other citizen of India. Why should we be penalised by such restrictions when we are not even being compensated for protecting forests, benefits of which are being shared by other states as well,” says ID Bali, senior lawyer in the High Court.

It is due to the cumbersome and time consuming procedures for getting permission from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest for diverting forest land for creating infrastructure that very often irate villagers use a JCB to pull down the trees in the dark of night so that they are not deprived of road facility or a school.

The SC order has added to the worries of the government as already several development projects were on the hold for the want of FCA clearances. 

Factual position 

A notification under Section 29 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927, in 1952 placed even wastelands under “protected forest” category, thereby necessitating the need for seeking prior nod before diverting such land for any other purpose. Statistics with the HP Forest Department indicate that in Himachal Pradesh, 66.5 per cent of the total geographical area is forest land. About 40 per cent of this area has tree cover which comprises 26.30 per cent of the geographical area. About 16.2 per cent (5,989 sq km) of the forest area falls within the definition of wastelands. 

Even officials rue the fact that with enactment of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, the diversion of even such wastelands for developmental purpose requires the approval of the Centre. Resultantly, the developmental activities like construction of roads, hydel project, railway line or irrigation projects on such wastelands get adversely affected and suffer huge cost and time overruns. It is to address such concerns that the Ministry of Environment and Forest on February 13, 2014, authorised the state government to divert not more than one hectare forest land for critical development and security related infrastructure in 13 categories. One cannot deny that very often there is misuse of powers and far more number of trees is axed than permissible under the law. 

Forest encroachments

The maximum number of forest encroachments has been found to be in the apple growing belt of Jubbal, Rohru, Kotkhai and Chopal in Shimla district where deodar forests were felled to set up orchards. There were 13 cases where 50 to almost 200 bighas had been encroached upon individually by villagers to plant apple trees.

Almost 11,200 cases of forest encroachments have been detected in Himachal Pradesh over 2,148 hectares (26,500 bighas). Eviction has been undertaken on the High Court directives in almost 800 cases, where 6,500 bighas of forest land has been evicted. A special investigation team (SIT) has been constituted which is handling the entire issue of removal of forest encroachments. 

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