The State government’s ambitious plans for the Capital city, Amaravati, are likely to hit a roadblock with the Central Government saying ‘no’ to de-notify forest land in the Capital region.
While participating in a Vana Mahotsavam in the State sometime ago, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar announced that the Centre would de-notify the forest land as per the State government’s request.
But, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change did not approve the proposals sent by the State government to de-notify forest land in an extent of 33,000 hectares (about 83,650 acres) to develop the Capital city.
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The Union Ministry, highly placed sources say, rejected the proposal in toto. Instead, it suggested to the State government to scale down its requirement to 9,000 hectares, sources say.
“The Central Government asked a few queries. We have replied. The Centre is yet to respond,” said a forest official, who did not want to be quoted.
The Centre is unlikely to de-notify more than 4,500 hectares of forest land even if the State government revises its proposals. The Central Government also made it clear that it was not possible to de-notify upgraded forest.
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The AP Government, instead, could identify degraded forests, sources say.
For the record, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu recently announced that the government would send revised proposals to the Centre. He, however, did not elaborate. But, the Chief Minister expressed confidence that the issue would be resolved at the earliest. According to information, 32 out of 56 forest blocks spanning 34,102 hectares in Krishna district have been earmarked for de-notification. Eight of the blocks identified for de-notification are notified under the Madras Forest Act, 1882, 14 blocks under the A.P. Forest Act, 1967, and the remaining 10 blocks preliminary notified under section 4 of the A.P. Forest Act, 1967.
The note said that the forest in all the 32 blocks was degraded and long tracks of it were also encroached.
The existing legal framework warrants the State Government to pay the Net Present Value (NPV) fixed by the Supreme Court. There is no exemption for payment to the Environment Ministry, but the cost may vary depending on the density of the forest in question.
For instance, a forest with 0.4 per cent density would cost Rs. 5.80 lakh per hectare and the government should be prepared to pay over Rs. 11 lakh if the forest is about 0.8 to 1 per cent.
Market experts opine that the government is happy to pay the Ministry as the private land in the same region costs more than 10 times that of forest land.
Elusive clearance
Centre unlikely to de-notify more than 4,500 hectares
32 out of 56 forest blocks, covering 34,102 hectares in Krishna district, earmarked for de-notification
There is no exemption for payment of NPV to the
Environment Ministry
The cost may vary, depending on the density of the forest in question
AP Reorganisation Act allows State to de-notify forest land for building capital
State will have to give similar extent of land at some other place to develop reserve forest