Forest Land

Govt mulls EPR for construction and demolition waste, used cooking oil

In the case of used cooking oil, the plan is to recycle it for uses such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), animal feed, and soap making

Over 57,000 ha degraded forest land marked for green credit scheme: Govt

Seventeen states have so far set aside more than 57,700 hectares of degraded forest land for tree plantation under the Green Credit Programme, according to government data. The programme rewards voluntary environmental actions by individuals, communities and the private sector. Madhya Pradesh -- which has the largest forest cover in the country -- identified and registered more than 15,200 hectares of degraded forest land for the programme until February 2, the highest among all states, the government told Parliament earlier this week. Andhra Pradesh has registered 11,361 hectares of degraded forest land, Gujarat 6,760 hectares, Jharkhand 5,648 hectares, Tamil Nadu 4,708 hectares and Bihar 4,108 hectares. At present, only tree plantation for eco-restoration of degraded forest land is being implemented under the Green Credit Programme, launched in October 2023. Any individual or private entity can undertake plantation on degraded land, including open forest and scrub land, wastelan

Underground works in forest land for projects eco-friendly: Govt

The Union environment ministry has clarified that all underground works in forest land linked to linear, irrigation, hydel, and other development projects should be considered equivalent to underground mining, which is an environmentally-friendly activity and exempt from compensatory afforestation. The clarification was issued in response to a request from the Rajasthan government, which enquired about the applicability of compensatory afforestation for tunnels constructed as part of water resource development projects. Tunnel construction is environmentally friendly because it does not disrupt surface flora, fauna or ecological regimes, said the ministry. The ministry's guidelines from April 17, 2018, already consider tunnels constructed for hydel projects to be equivalent to underground mining. In a meeting on January 27, the Forest Advisory Committee said the ministry's October 1, 2024, guidelines exempted tunnel construction for linear projects (railways and roads) from ...

Statsguru: India's forest and tree cover at 25.17% of total land area

Forest fire detections saw a considerable drop from the 2020-21 cycle. Odisha and Madhya Pradesh witnessed the bulk of forest fire incidents

UP registers second-highest green cover increase in country as per ISFR

Uttar Pradesh has recorded the second-highest increase in the combined forest and tree cover in the country with an increase of 559 sqkm, the state government said in a statement. "UP records the second largest increase in forest and tree cover. Total 559.19 sq km as per the latest ISFR released in Dehradun today," the statement said. UP's Minister of State (Independent Charge) Forest and Environment, Zoological Garden, Climate Change Arun Kumar Saxena credited Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for the increase in the green cover with his directions to all stakeholders to plant trees. "And because of the collective efforts, we got positive and good results. We ranked second in the country in increasing the combined forest and tree cover, which is a significant achievement. Only Chhattisgarh is ahead of us," Saxena told reporters. "Our efforts will be to take the state to the number one position," he added. India's total forest and tree cover has increased by 1,445 sq km since 2021, .

Govt defends Great Nicobar project amid criticism, cites national interest

The project could also effect a potential genocide of the Shompen tribe, Ramesh had alleged, echoing concerns of various activists over the past year

Will stop 'bahu, behan' yojana if dues not paid: SC pulls up Maha govt

The Supreme Court bench said that it will stop freebies offered by the Maharashtra government if the state fails to pay up the due compensation by August 28

India among top 3 countries in most significant forest area gains: FAO

India gained 2,66,000 hectares of forest area annually from 2010 to 2020, securing the third spot among the top 10 countries with the most significant forest area gains during this period, according to a new report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The report, released on Monday, said that China led the world with the maximum forest area gain of 1,937,000 hectares, followed by Australia with 4,46,000 hectares, and then India. Other countries in the top 10 include Chile, Vietnam, Turkey, the United States, France, Italy and Romania. The UN agency praised India for its efforts in restoring degraded lands and expanding agroforestry through innovative approaches. This includes the development of a new national policy aimed at better supporting agroforestry in the country. The report highlighted a significant reduction in deforestation in some countries. For example, Indonesia saw an 8.4 per cent decline in deforestation from 2021 to 2022, while Brazil's Amazon experienced

Forest conservation saw advancement over last 15 year: India informs UNFF

India informed the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) that it has made significant advancements in forest conservation and management, leading to a consistent increase in forest cover over the past 15 years. The country participated in the 19th Session of the UNFF held at the UN headquarters in New York from May 6 to 10. Globally, India ranks third in the net gain in average annual forest area between 2010 and 2020. During the session, India said it gives high priority to biodiversity and wildlife conservation, having expanded the network of protected areas to over a thousand wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, tiger reserves, biosphere reserves, and other wildlife habitats. The recent celebrations marking 50 years of Project Tiger' and 30 years of Project Elephant' underscore India's commitment to species conservation and habitat protection, the environment ministry said in a statement. India also highlighted the creation of the International Big Cat Alliance, a global ...

The hidden cost of India's tiger reserves: Loss of tribal rights

Tribal communities bear the brunt of conservation policies 50 years after a key programme on tiger conservation was launched

Delhi HC asks DDA to give details of land for developing 50-acre forest

The Delhi High Court on Monday asked the DDA to give details of the land parcel the agency would earmark for developing a 50-acre forest in the national capital. Justice Jasmeet Singh asked the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to file the affidavit in 10 days and said the land selected for the project should be "sustainable". The court's order came while dealing with contempt proceedings against the DDA over cutting down of several trees in the Southern Ridge area without due permission for constructing an approach road near South Asian University in Maidan Garhi here. The DDA counsel tendered an apology and said although the trees were cut down, there was no "wilful disobedience" as the field staff "misconstrued" a Delhi government notification exempting around 4.9 hectares of the land from taking approval of the tree officer as the final permission for felling. Urging the court to not proceed further with contempt action, she said a 50-acre land parcel in the Madanpur Khadar are

Former bureaucrats urge govt to withdraw the Green Credits programme

In July 2023, the group, in a separate open letter, had criticised the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, which permits the diversion of forest lands for security purposes

LIVE: Council of ministers brainstorms over 'Viksit Bharat 2047' plan

From former Health Minister Harsh Vardhan announcing retirement from politics to CBI filing charge sheet against 7 in Manipur in armoury loot case, catch all the updates here

Arunachal undertakes afforestation in 16,560 hectares under CAMPA: Minister

The Arunachal Pradesh government has carried out afforestation programme in 16,560.46 hectare of land in the state during 2022-23 under Compensatory Afforestation Fund and Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) scheme, the state assembly was informed on Tuesday. Responding to a question raised on the second day of the monsoon session of the assembly by Congress MLA Wangling Lowangdong, Environment and Forest Minister Mama Natung informed that, an amount of Rs 196.93 crore was sanctioned by the national authority (CAMPA) under the environment, forest and climate change ministry to the state for the year 2022-23. The minister informed that under the compensatory afforestation component, preparatory works were undertaken in 2,986.23 hectare, creation of plantations in 4,459.16 hectare and maintenance of plantations in 24,177.35 hectare of land in the state during 2022-23. Under the catchment area treatment plan component, the creation of plantations w

BiofuelCircle collaborates with ISB to strengthen country's forest economy

Digital platform for biomass and biofuels BiofuelCircle has collaborated with Indian School of Business (ISB) to strengthen forest economy in the country. The collaboration aims to establish large-scale, efficient, and sustainable value chains in the bioenergy sector, utilizing forests as a reliable and eco-friendly source of raw materials, specifically selected non-timber forest products/seasonal forest products, a statement said. This partnership signifies the shared vision of BiofuelCircle and ISB to promote sustainable bioenergy and create sources of income for local communities. The collaboration shall combine community forest ownership, establish formal industry linkages and government partnerships to achieve this vision. ISB is currently implementing this initiative in three states across India. The pilots will serve as laboratories to develop a scalable and sustainable solution for procurement of forest-based industrial raw materials through multistakeholder partnerships ..

10 held for hunting, encroachment of forest land near Kuno National Park

Ten persons have been arrested for their alleged involvement in forest crimes, including hunting and tree-cutting, near the Kuno National Park (KNP), the home of cheetahs, in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur district, officials said on Saturday. These persons were arrested from the Karahal forest range, some 40 km from KNP boundaries, officials said. The accused, including four from Rajasthan, were taken into custody in connection with tree-cutting, encroachment and hunting, the forest department said in a press release. Two axes, a gofan' (sling) and five nooses that are used in hunting were seized from their possession, it said. Karahal's Forest Range Officer Satyendra Singh Dhakad said that the accused have been booked under Indian Forest Act and Wildlife (Protection) Act. They were presented before a court before being sent to jail, he said. KNP has been under the spotlight ever since eight Namibian cheetahs five female and three male were released into enclosures there last Septemb

Prepare SOP for extraction of dry trees from forest: CM Sukhu to officials

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu asked officials to formulate a standard operating procedure (SOP) to ensure effective marking, extraction and disposal of dry trees, a statement issued here on Tuesday said. Sukhu's directions came during a review meeting of the Forest Department and Himachal Pradesh State Forest Development Corporation (HPSFDC) on Wednesday. Presiding over the meeting, Sukhu said to generate revenue, the timely extraction of dried-out trees from the forest before their natural decomposition was the need of the hour. Currently, the state has around 87,000 salvage trees on the forest land, which can produce around 64,000 cubic meters of timber, the CM said. He emphasised the monthly marking of such trees to facilitate their timely extraction and disposal. Sukhu directed the forest department and HPSFDC to collaborate with each other for the timely extraction of dry trees. For early disposal on a pilot basis, he suggested granting the forest ..

Karnataka HC sets aside NCLT order regarding windmills on forest land

The Karnataka High Court has quashed the order of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) that had passed an order allowing the operations of windmills on forest land in the state to a Mumbai-based company. The HC said the tribunal did not have jurisdiction over the matter of setting aside a government order. "The company could not have knocked at the doors of the Tribunal as it completely falls beyond the purview of the Code, being in the realm of public law, since the State has exercised its jurisdiction in drawing up the proceedings and directing forest clearances to be submitted by the corporate debtor, the petitioner, in exercise of powers conferred under the Statute. Therefore, they are in the realm of public law," Justice M Nagaprasanna said in his judgment. The tribunal had no jurisdiction to direct functioning/continuing of the windmill without the forest clearance, merely because the state had granted such permission at an earlier point in time, the court stated. The ...

WB govt with Dutch help prepares plan to tackle floods in Sunderbans

The West Bengal government has drafted an action plan with the help of Dutch experts to tackle floods, prevent embankment damage and decrease salinity level in Sunderbans and in the coastal areas. Principal Secretary of Irrigation and Waterways department Prabhat Kumar Mishra told PTI that the department had signed the letter of intent (LoI) with the Netherlands government in the sixth edition of the Bengal Global Business Summit in April last year for technical assistance in delta management and development of the Sunderbans and coastal areas of Digha. "An action plan has been formulated and pilot project already taken off near Mousumi islands in South 24 Parganas district to strengthen embankments and the Dutch team - consisting of experts - has made three-four visits to the delta areas of south Bengal to take forward the work," he said. Mishra said various waterways, including blocked water canals and river channels, crisscrossing parts of south Bengal, had been connected with .

Eviction drive to clear forest land underway in Assam's Lakhimpur

An eviction drive to clear 450 hectares of forest land from "illegal settlers" is underway in Assam's Lakhimpur district on Tuesday, officials said. Out of 2,560.25 hectares of the reserved forest, only 29 hectares are currently free of any encroachment, they said. More than 500 families have been affected in the drive to clear 450 hectares of land under Pavo reserved forest, with 200 hectares being targeted in the first phase on Tuesday, a senior police officer said. Lakhimpur Additional Superintendent of Police Runa Neog said over 60 excavators and tractors and 600 security personnel have been pressed into action since morning. "The drive is underway peacefully since 7.30 am and we have not faced any resistance so far. We are expecting a smooth exercise," Neog told PTI. She said security forces had been conducting area domination for the last few days and the "illegal settlers" were asked to vacate their houses. Official sources said that 200 hectares of land in Moghuli village