Forest land may prove costly for industries

Units using green cover may be penalised.

Industries and projects which used or are using forest land for 'non-forest' purposes may have to pay a heavy price, literally. The Supreme Court has set up a committee of experts from the Institute of Economic Growth to calculate the cost of restoration of forest according to the cost of the land.

The committee will determine the Net Present Value (NPV) depending upon the benefits accrued from the diversion of the land use so that it could be recovered from the agency which used the land for its own advantage.

However, the court indicated that government projects like hospitals, dispensaries and schools could be exempted from the levy. But, the final decision will be taken after the committee submits its report.

The axe may fall mainly on mining companies and timber-based industries. The Federation of Indian Mineral Industries wanted the NPV rate at 10 per cent for major minerals and 5 per cent for minor minerals. The court rejected this request. The Supreme Court held that the question was not of the value or the volume of the minerals but of the need to protect the environment.

"A larger public interest has to be the guiding principle and not the present interest of the user agency only," the court said.

Even government undertakings would not be spared. The judgment said: "We are unable to accept the argument that wherever the government is the user agency in a notified forest area, NPV should not be charged. Such a submission cannot be accepted keeping in mind the Forest Conservation Act and other environmental laws."

These orders were passed by a three-judge bench headed by Justice Y K Sabharwal in a public interest petition pending since 1995 relating to conservation of forests. Earlier, the court had stopped felling of trees and their transportation. The case has not been closed yet and it will be listed for hearing early next year after the committee's recommendations.

The judgment extensively dealt with the data on forests and pointed out that the forest cover of the country decreased from 638,879 sq km to 633,397 sq km between 1995 and 1997 alone, thus showing a loss of 5,482 sq km in just two years.

Further, there has been a decrease of 17,777 sq km of dense forest cover while open forests and mangroves have increased by 12,001 sq km and 294 sq km respectively.

---

Let there be green

Supreme court has set up a committee to calculate the cost of restoration of forest

The Committee will determine the Net Present Value depending on the benefits accrued from the land use

The axe may fall mainly on mining companies and timber-based industries