Question raised in Rajya Sabha on Diversion of forest land in urban areas, 13/08/2015
Question raised in Rajya Sabha on Diversion of forest land in urban areas, 13/08/2015. Section-2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 inter-alia provides that notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force in a State, no State Government or other authority shall make, except with the prior approval of the Central Government, any order directing that any forest land or any portion thereof may be used for any non-forest purpose. Therefore, use of forest land for various development projects, including development projects in urban areas, requires prior approval of the Central Government under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. During last three years and current year, the Central Government has accorded approvals over 1,24,133 ha of forest land in 4,232 cases for such development activities including developmental activities in urban areas. State wise details of approvals granted by the Central Government for use of forest land for such activities is given at Annexure-I.