Apex court nod to divert forest land for non-forest purpose under FCA, FRA in 433 cases

Shimla : A spokesman of the Himachal Pradesh government said today that the Supreme Court of India vide its order dated 9th and 14th  Dec, 2021 in relaxation to restraint order dated 11th March, 2019 passed in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 202 of 1995 has allowed the state government to divert forest  land for non-forest purpose under Forest Conservation Act, 1980 (FCA) and the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (FRA) in respect of projects appended with the interlocutory applications.

He said the 103 projects appended with the interlocutory include cases of 63 roads, 13 electric projects, one airport, three Anaj Mandi’s and Sabji mandi projects, four college buildings, one hospitals, four bus stands, one market Yard, two railways lines, one ware house for storage of EVMs, one weather radar, one ropeway, one helipad, two mining, one parking, two hot mix plants, one police post and one NDRF.

He further said the projects under FRA, 2006 include cases of 13 community centres, 268 roads projects, 11 schools, 19 drinking water supply schemes and water pipelines, 5 minor irrigation canal or rain water harvesting structures, 10  health institutions, three skill upgradation and vocational training centres and one fair price shop.