The Union Environment Ministry’s Forest Advisory Committee has given in-principle approval for diversion of over 3,000 hectares of forest land across several states for major infrastructure projects, including hydropower in Arunachal Pradesh, a coal mine in Chhattisgarh, and iron ore mining in Goa and Odisha, according to minutes of the committee meeting held on May 8.
FAC has granted in-principle approval for conversion of 261.53 hectares of unclassified forest land for the 680 MW Atunli Hydropower Project on Talu (Tangon) River in Dibang Valley, Arunachal Pradesh. The project, located in the Dibang sub-basin of the Brahmaputra River Valley, includes cutting down 47,243 trees. Compensatory afforestation has been proposed on 523,762 hectares of degraded forest land in West Kameng District.
A subcommittee that visited the site in October last year – as directed by the May 2024 Committee on Foreign Assets Control meeting – recommended approval subject to conditions. These requirements include that quarry sites be treated as mining proposals with approved mining and mine closure plans, a geological and slope stabilization study be conducted by a reputable institution given the steep terrain, and that the wildlife and biodiversity management plan be examined by the Wildlife Institute of India.
The latter condition reflects the project’s location upstream of the Italin Hydropower Project, also located in the Dibang Valley, and is intended to ensure environmental consistency across both projects. The Dibang Valley is a biodiversity hotspot, and the Forest Department had previously rejected deforestation for the Italin plant (3,097 MW).
The Forest Department has also granted in-principle approval for diversion of 869.35 hectares of forest land – including 75 hectares of very dense forest and 169 hectares of medium-density forest – for the 1,200 MW Kalay Hydropower Project – Phase II on the Lohit River, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, in Namsai and Angau forest districts of Arunachal Pradesh.
Compensatory afforestation for this project is proposed across 51 plots of degraded forest land in Madhya Pradesh.
In Chhattisgarh, FAC granted Phase I permission to convert 1,742.6 hectares of forest land for the Kenti Extension opencast coal mine and integrated washer, a 9 million tons per annum project. The proposal includes cutting down 448,874 trees in stages. A portion of these trees will be planted, according to the minutes.
The project has been rated as High or Inviolable Conservation Value (HCV) under the Parivesh Gateway’s decision support system – a classification that refers to proposals in environmentally sensitive areas and is intended to attract intense scrutiny.
The mine is located 3,625 km from the Limru Elephant Sanctuary, and elephant movement has been reported in and around the mining area.
Other wildlife recorded in the area includes sloth bear, barking deer, jackal, fox, hyena, Indian gray wolf and wild boar.
The FAC approved mining in two phases: Phase 1, covering 15 years, limits mining to 1,001.95 hectares; The clearance of the remaining 740.65 hectares in the second phase will be conditional on the results of reforestation and biodiversity management in the first phase.
FAC has also granted Phase I permission to convert 5.36 hectares of forest land within the Block-VII Cudnem Mineral Block area in North Goa for iron ore mining. The employing agency must submit a comprehensive reclamation plan that integrates soil and water conservation measures and biological remediation.
In Odisha, phase-I approval has been granted for conversion of 216,875 hectares of forest land in the Barbil mountain range in Keonjhar forest division for the Gandalpada iron ore project. The State Government has been directed to implement a wildlife management and biodiversity conservation plan approved by the Chief Wildlife Warden, with soil and moisture conservation measures implemented at the expense of the project proponent.
