Centre directs states, UTs to expedite forest clearances for infrastructure projects
The time taken by processing authorities was almost twice that prescribed in the Van Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan Rules, 2023, the Union government said.
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The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has directed state governments and Union territories to reduce the time taken to process clearances for infrastructure and other development projects that require diverting forest land, the Hindustan Times reported on Friday.
In an office memorandum on November 22, the ministry also asked the principal secretaries of states, and their principal chief conservators of forests, to ensure that the time taken by officials to process forest clearances are regularly reviewed.
The notice directed the officials to issue strict warnings to officers who do not adhere to the timelines prescribed under the Van Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan Rules, 2023.
The rules were notified by the ministry on November 30, 2023, and came into effect on December 1, 2023. It replaced the Forest Conservation Rules, 2022. It outlines the process and timelines for seeking approval for projects on forest lands.
The ministry said that it had undertaken a review of the time taken to process such clearances. “The timelines prescribed in the Van Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan Adhiniyam are not being adhered to by the processing authorities in the State/UTs,” it added.
The time taken by the processing authorities was almost twice the duration prescribed in the rules in several cases, the ministry said. However, officials did not...
