In an intra-ministry communication on July 16, 2015, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar suggested that the term ‘diversion of forest land' be replaced with the word ‘reforestation'. The minister's explanation is that “for every diversion of forest land for a project, a condition for clearance says that compensatory afforestation on equal area of non-forest land is a must, which ultimately is the same as reforestation."
Vinay Srivastava, the minister's private secretary, further stated, “The Honourable Minister has desired that henceforth in all communication the word ‘Clearance' should be replaced by ‘Approval With Adequate Environmental Safeguards' and the word ‘Diversion' should be replaced by ‘Reforestation'."
A CAG report issued in 2013 declared that in regard to the receivable non-forest land of 1,03,381.91 hectares between the years 2006 to 2012 allotted to compensatory afforestation, only 28,086 hectares was received. Javadekar has claimed that the “inefficiency" of the previous UPA government is responsible for the lapse in implementing the required compensatory afforestation. Furthermore, in a continual bout of negligence from the ministry, afforestation was implemented on only 49 percent of the required area.
Environment secretary Ashok Lavasa issued a monthly report on the ministry's activities, which included a list of the number of projects cleared and the extent of forestland diverted. In a further examination of the report, the number of projects cleared in June 2015 was shown to be considerably higher than the number of clearances issued in a larger time frame of three months during the first quarter of the new government.
Source: Indian Express.
