06-03-14
* The region will lose 92,115 Hectares of Zudpi Jungle land for any
projects in future as proposal is to notify this land as
‘reserved/protected forest’
* Zudpi Jungle land has not been denotified, only the encroachments and non-forestry uses on said land have been regularised
* No relaxation in payment of NPV for projects on Zudpi Jungle land, as
State will have to seek exemption from payment of NPV from the Supreme
Court
By Kartik Lokhande
Devil lies in details, it is said. The
‘decision’ announced by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and claim that
the years-long Zudpi Jungle issue had been resolved providing a huge
respite to Vidarbha region’s projects, is actually a smart ploy to
inflict more loss than gain on the region.
The ‘decision’ was presented in such a manner that almost all construed
as ‘denotification’ of 86,409 Hectares of Zudpi Jungle land. However,
the circular issued by Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) does
not use the word ‘denotification’ anywhere. It only uses the word
‘diversion’. As an impact of ‘diversion’ of Zudpi Jungle to non-forestry
uses, only the encroachments, non-forestry uses on Zudpi Jungle land
have been regularised. Besides, the Zudpi land available in fragments of
less than three Hectares each, was of no use for forestry purposes.
Hence, such fragments have been ‘diverted’ for non-forestry purposes.
The said ‘decision’ has got only one positive angle (apart from
regularisation of existing non-forestry use and encroachments) -- 32,229
Hectares of Zudpi land will be available for compensatory
afforestation. If a project requires forest land, it has to pay Net
Present Value (NPV) as well as pay for compensatory afforestation. Now,
32,229 Hectares of Zudpi Jungle land will be available for compensatory
afforestation. That is, the money spent on land required for
compensatory afforestation will be saved. Of course, it will save
Maharashtra Government’s Rs 5,400 crore. But, it may not necessarily
result in saving the money of private entities or industries on
compensatory afforestation.
As far as NPV is concerned, the State Government does not have powers to
take a decision on exemption. The circular -- issued on March 4, 2014
and brought to the city by Chief Minister himself -- nails the lie of
Maharashtra Government that the latest ‘decision’ on Zudpi Jungle will
save a few thousands of crores of rupees. On diversion of Zudpi land for
non-forestry uses, the circular states clearly, “The approval for these
diversions under the provisions of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980,
will be subject to payment of Net Present Value as per the directions of
the Hon’ble Supreme Court. If the State Government desires any
exemption regarding NPV, the State Government is at liberty to approach
the Hon’ble Supreme Court in this regard.”
The overall Zudpi Jungle land thus ‘diverted’ admeasures 86,408
Hectares. However, there is another serious angle to the story. The
‘decision’ means more loss than gain for Vidarbha region, where a lot
many projects have been stalled due to Forest Conservation Act (FCA)
provisions. In a way, the region has been punished for protecting
forests better than other parts of Maharashtra. As per the latest
‘decision’ on Zudpi Jungle land, though 86,409 Hectares is being cleared
for non-forestry uses, it paves way for ‘notifying’ 92,115 Hectares of
Zudpi Jungle land as ‘reserved/protected forests’. This means, the land
that has only scrubs and not big trees will be treated officially as
regular forest. And, notifying 92,115 Hectares of land as
reserved/protected forest will mean no project whatsoever can ever come
up on that land!
The circular signed by Assistant Inspector General of Forests M Rajkumar
states, “The State Government will ensure the notification of 92,115 ha
of Zudpi Jungle as Reserved Forest/Protected Forest (16,309 ha already
notified and 75,806 ha to be notified), which has been considered
suitable for forestry management, development and conservation by the
High Power Committee.”
Already, there appears to be a conspiracy to deprive Vidarbha region of
development. The region is rich in minerals, land, water, and other
resources that attract industries. As soon as the region started
attracting industries and investment, curiously, the area under
reserved/protected forest also increased with declaration of new tiger
reserves and sanctuaries. Now, the proposal to ‘notify’ Zudpi Jungle
land as reserved/protected forest will further reduce land availability
for industrial projects. Besides, it will also convert large swathes of
areas into ‘no go’ zones, thus blocking mineral exploration or other
projects in the region.
‘How can non-notified
land be denotified?’
Asked
about the issue, Principal Secretary (Forests) Pravin Pardeshi told
‘The Hitavada’ that to ‘denotify’ any land, it should be ‘notified’
first. At present, of a total 1,78,525 Hectares of land ‘classified’ as
Zudpi Jungle, only 16,309 Hectares is ‘notified’.
Of the remaining non-notified Zudpi Jungle land, already 27,507 Hectares
is under encroachment, 26,672 Hectares is under non-forestry uses, and
32,229 Hectares is in fragments of less than three Hectares. “State
Government has got permission for diversion of Zudpi Jungle land under
encroachments, non-forestry uses, and fragments. The total of this comes
out to be 86,409 Hectares,” he said. Also, he added, apart from 16,309
Hectares of notified Zudpi Jungle land, 75,806 Hectares remains to be
notified. Now, the State Government has been asked to notify total
92,115 Hectares (16,309 Hectares of notified Zudpi Jungle and 75,806
Hectares remaining to be notified) as reserved/protected forests.
As far as NPV is concerned, Pardeshi said that State Government was not
empowered to decide on exemption. State Government would have to seek
exemption from payment of NPV from Supreme Court, he said. Asked if the
decision would pave way for industrial, mining or developmental projects
in Vidarbha, Pardeshi said, “It will. Because, 32,229 Hectares of Zudpi
Jungle land which is available in fragments, has been made available
for compensatory afforestation.”
District-wise status of Zudpi Jungle (ZJ)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Status of ZJ District-wise area (in Hectares)
Nagpur Wardha Gadchiroli Bhandara-Gondia Chandrapur Total
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total ZJ 32,610 22,620 15,060 87,409 20,825 1,78,525
Notified ZJ Nil 906 1,323 14,079 Nil 16,309
In fragments 6,008 5,326 1,199 12,648 7,046 32,229
Encroached 1,381 793 5,876 12,719 6,736 27,507
Non-forestry use 10,009 5,048 326 10,464 823 26,672
Total non-notified
(Fragments, non-
forestry use, and
encroached) 17,398 11,167 7,401 35,831 14,605 86,409
To be notified 15,210 10,544 6,333 37,498 6,219 75,806
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(Source: Data-sheet provided in Chief Minister’s press conference)
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