Presentation on:

Importance of Forest / Wildlife Clearance

Steps Involved in
Forest & Wildlife Clearance Proposal

Roads & Buildings Department

Govt. of Gujarat
 The Indian Forest Act (1927) and Amendments
 The Act Relates to Forest, Transit of Forest-Produce and Duty
Levied on Timber and Other Forest- Produce

 Different States Made Amendments to Suit their Requirements

 Defines Forest, Reserved Forest (RF) and Protected Forest (PF)

 ‘Forest’ Means ‘an Extensive Tract of Land Covered with Trees

and Undergrowth, Sometimes Intermingled with Pasture’

 The State Government May Constitute any Forest Land or Waste

Land as RF or PF
 PF – Either Govt. Owned or Private Land
 RF – No Activity Permitted Except Related to its Conservation
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 The Forest (Conservation) Act (1980) including
Forest Conservation Rules (2003)
 To  Check Indiscriminate Diversion of Forest Land for Non-Forest
Purposes- MoEF & CC, GoI is Nodal Agency

 Clearance Under Act is Difficult / Time consuming to Obtain

(For Non - Forest Purposes)

 Exceptions are Under Rare Cases With Strict Conditions Including

“Compensatory Afforestation”

 Cases to be Dealt Under

 Up to 5 ha : Regional Chief Conservator of Forest (RCCF / PCCF)
 5-40 ha : RCCF in Consultation with State Advisory Group
 >40 ha : Advisory Committee of MoEF & CC, GoI
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 Powers to Decide Forest Clearance

RF PF NPF
Up to 5 Ha., GoG
All proposals Upto 40 Hac.- MoEF Within
to & CC, RO, Bhopal, GoI GoG
GoI,
New Delhi Above 40 Hac.- MoEF
& CC, New Delhi, GoI
 Provision of Forest Conservation Act
 Delegation of powers

(a) For less than 5 ha forest land, the Regional Office of the MoEF & CC is
competent to issue clearance. (MoEF & CC - Lucknow, Bhopal, Orrisa)

(b) For more than 5 ha but less than 40 ha, the clearance is issued by the
Central office of MoEF & CC on the recommendations of the Regional
office. (MoEF & CC, New Delhi)
(c) Proposals more than 40 ha are directly forwarded to the central office of
MoEF & CC by the State Government.
(d) For roadside plantations notified as PF, the regional office of the ministry
is competent to dispose all proposals irrespective of the area.
 Highway plantations not yet been declared as protected forests do not
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attract the provisions of Forest Act 1980 (FCA 1980).
Importance of Timely Approval / Forest Clearance

Loan Negotiation – Condition Precedent

Projects Financed by International Funding Agencies..
 ADB, AIIB, WB, AFDB
 Other Bilateral – Multilateral Funding Institutions

• Projects Financed under the World Bank have to be

appraised by DEA, GoI at least about 3 – 4 months
before negotiation.

• One of the Pre-Requisite, at the time of project

appraisal : Obtaining Forest Clearance
 Project Appraisal - Condition Precedent
1. All statutory clearances like :
Environmental,
CRZ,
Forest Clearances,
Clearance from State Pollution Control Board etc…
Have to be in place at the time of Appraisal / Loan Negotiation.

2. At least 50 % of land acquisition ( if required), shall have to be

completed.
3. All administrative approval for shifting of utilities etc shall have
to be obtained / taken.
 Forest Clearance
 Types of Forests / Clearances required

(a) Reserve Forest (RF)

(b) Protected Forest (PF)
(c) Unclassified Forest (UC)
(d) Notified Protected Forest
Roadside Strip Plantations notified as PF

Example : PF Noti. Govt. of Rajasthan

Gazette Notification – Rajasthan Government (NH – 8)

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 Forest Clearance Cases Related to
Liner Plantation
• Many Road/Highway Projects Delayed because of Delays in Getting NOC from
Forest Department w.r.t. Cutting of Trees Along Roads and Highways
(i.e. Linear Plantation)
• Linear Plantation : Lands Acquired by Govt. Depts. (e.g., Railway, Irrigation, PWD
etc.) For Specific Purposes (Like Laying of Roads, Railway Lines and Canals) &
Vacant Area Planted With Trees
• These Lands Not Notified as “Protected Forests” will not Attract Provisions of
Forest (Conservation) Act (1980) For Purposes of
Widening/Expansion/Realignment.
• However, Concerned Agency Will Seek Permission Under Local Laws From
Appropriate Authority
• MoEF & CC Issued Revised Guidelines for Applicability of Forest (Conservation) Act
(1980) on Liner Plantations for Widening/Modernization of Existing Roads
 Forest Diversion Procedure
 Identification of Forest land

 Preparation of the proposal in the appropriate form

 Submission the application to the concerned Nodal Officer authorized

 Copies should also be sent to the concerned DFO for processing.

 The concerned DFO carries out a inspection of the site and gets the enumeration of
trees done.
 The proposal is then processed within the state forest department - State Advisory
Group
 Ultimately recommended to the MoEF & CC; GoI by REC / SAG.
Forest Clearance is given in two stages.
- STAGE I : 1st Stage, the proposal is accepted in principle with conditions like Payment
of Net Present Value, Cost of Compensatory afforestation, etc.
- STAGE II : After receipt of compliance report on the stipulated conditions the FORMAL
APPROVAL i.e. 2nd Stage clearance is accorded.
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 http://moef.gov.in/
 www.envfor.nic.in
• e-portal : https://parivesh.nic.in/
 Forest Proposal Document

(a) Location Map of Project area.

(b) Road in forest area marked in green and forest boundaries on

topo sheets in the scale of 1:50000.

(c) Proposed Right of way superimposed on the forest map and

revenue maps.

(d) Undertaking of Project Authorities etc

(e) Rehabilitation Plan For oustees if displacement is in forest

areas.

(f) Cost Benefit Analysis (if forest land to be diverted is more than
20 ha in plains or more than 5 ha in hills).
Forest, Form A Form A (NH-8) Check List (NH – 8)

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 Steps Involved in Forestry Clearance

Obtaining Notification from Forest Department

Obtaining RF Map (wherever applicable) from Forest

Dept.

Conversion of RF maps from Gujarati to English (R & BD)

Superimposition of road alignment on Forest Maps (R & BD)

Separate proposal for RF / PF / NPF (Wherever applicable)

Corridor Wise
 Steps Involved in Forestry Clearance

Separate proposal for RF / PF / NPF (Wherever applicable)

Corridor Wise At DCF

YES Confirmation of RF NO
If RF OK ?
Involves ? Area Calculation DCF (T)

NO JV, Area YES

If Land- CA YES Proposal from Demarcation, Assessment of land for CA
available DCF (SF) to RFO Kharda Marking, (DCF –Territorial )
Checklist
Preparation of CA Scheme
NO

Identi. of land by :
ACF, RFO , Forest Surveyor
• Afforestation,
• Prepare the Map Preparation of DCF (T) to CCF for TS
CA Scheme

CCF to DCF – Territorial

DCF – Territorial to DCF (SF)

 Steps Involved in Forestry Clearance
Back to DCF DCF – Territorial to DCF (SF)

Also, to Obtain Gram Sabha Resolutions

Demand and Conversion for non forest land from

DM & Collector, in the name of DCF - Territorial

DCF (SF) to CF / CCF (After Site Visit)

If any Query ?

CCF to APCCF - Land (Nodal Officer)

APCCF - Land (Nodal Officer) to PCCF

PCCF to Forest and Env. Dept., Govt. of Gujarat (GoG)

GoG to RO – Bhopal , Govt. of India

In Principal Approval
 Steps Involved in Forestry Clearance

In Principal
Approval

Compliance of conditions stipulated including Payment of NPV

Tree Cutting procedure for non reserve forest

• Tender by Forest Department
• Tree cutting by Forest Department

Final Tree cutting procedure for RF

Approval • Tender by Forest Department
• Tree cutting by Forest Department
 Points, needs to be highlighted at :
• While preparing Forest Proposals
• Submitting the Forest Proposals

• Meeting & Presentation at RO - MoEF & CC,

Bhopal
• Meeting & Presentation at MoEF & CC, New
Delhi, GoI
• During FAC Meetings (On Forest Clearances)
 Inventory Details

• How the Environmental and Social inventory is carried out ?

(According to the available and proposed RoW )
• Measured distance from the central line of the carriageway on either side with in RoW.
• Normally area (Width) covered as :
 15m from CL on either side (For 2 lane )
 30 m from CL on either side (For 4 lane)
• Follow Corridor of Impact (CoI) approach and Identify the Environmental and Social
Components
• List out the impacted components with in the proposed width.
Such as Trees, Ponds, Sensitive Receptors, Forest, Cultural Properties , Settlements)

Identify the stretches / Corridor Wise where trees exceeded in 100 in numbers per km.
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 Corridor of Impact Approach
Proposed CW width (m)
    Total
Corridor Configuration Existing  
Total Corridor
with CW Existing Proposed of Impact
Proposed Treatment Width ROW HS PS CW PS HS
Width (m)
(m)

Two Lane, Hard Shoulders 7.0 24 2.5 0 7 0 2.5

(2 LHS) 12 16
3.5 24 2.5 0 7 0 2.5
Two Lane Paved Shoulders & 6.1 24 to 1 1.5 7 1.5 1 12 16
Hard Shoulders (2LPS + HS) 30m
7.0 1 0 14 0 1
Four Lane (4L) 30 16.8 (0.8 m 26
10.0 Median)
1 0 14 0 1

Road Right of Way

Corridor of Impact

Corridor of Impact

Figure Error! No text of specified style in document.-1: Corridor of Impact and Right of Way of 2 lane roads

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Design Interventions towards Saving of Trees
Following Design Interventions shall be adopted to save the Trees:

1. Providing of Crash Barriers

2. Restriction of Proposed Road width at Green Tunnels

(Compressed Cross Sections)

3. Geometric Improvements

4. Consideration of Cultural Importance Trees

5. Tree Transplantation

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 Design Interventions towards Saving of Trees
1. Providing of Crash Barriers :

Trees shall be saved by providing / making provisions of :

Crash Barriers along with safety signages at -
• Sharp curves,
• Approaches to Canals and Green tunnel locations.

Cross Section showing Crash barriers 25

Design Interventions towards Saving of Trees..
2. Restriction of Proposed Road width at Green tunnels
(Compressed cross section)

Trees shall be save by compressing the proposed road width at

Green Tunnel Sections / locations.

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Design Interventions towards Saving of Trees..
3. Geometric Improvements
While proposing Geometric Improvements , especially at the Curve
Improvement locations, Trees shall be saved on other side of the
curve location.

4. Consideration of Religious/Cultural importance Trees:

Religious Trees may exists / observe along the corridor
Such as Banyan (VAD) , Pipal , ….Trees
Religious Sentiments towards those trees from certain section of
community / villagers there.
Alignment has to be shifted to preserve the cultural importance
trees.

• Road safety factors shall have to be consider, taking into

consideration towards saving of trees.
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Design Interventions towards Saving of Trees..
5. Propose Tree Transplantation :

• According to forest department guidelines identify the trees

which are suitable to transplant through transplanter machines
(Below 90cm girth size young trees)

• Normally, forest department identifies the suitable land for tree

transplantation.

• In case, if large number of trees needs to be transplanted, the

forest department will seek the project proponent assistance in
identifying land for transplantation.

• It shall be transplanted either in the “Goucher Land “ / “Revenue

Land” / near by village land (with prior permission from the
village panchayat), the trees shall be transplanted. 28
 WILDLIFE
CLEAREANCE
 The Wildlife (Protection) Act (1972)

• Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF & CC) in 1972

introduced Wild Life (Protection) Act, to save the
endangered species of flora and fauna as well as those
who are on the verge of extinction.

• “Natural Park” & “Sanctuaries” are declared by State or

Central Government’s notification.

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 The Wildlife (Protection) Act (1972)
• For safeguard, protection and better management wildlife Central Government in
the year 2003, constituted “National Board for Wild Life (NBWL)” under Wildlife
(Protection) Amendment Act (2003) which is headed by Prime Minister of India.

The Main Functions of NBWL

• promote wildlife conservation,
• to frame policies for development of wildlife & forests, management of protected
areas,
• controlling poaching and illegal activities,
• to carry out impact assessment of various projects /activities on wildlife and its
habitat and
• to recommend state govt. on alteration of boundaries of National Park and
Sanctuaries.
• are permitted in these protected areas.
In the context of roads and highway projects, it is always advisable that the
proposed new road project (National as well as state highway) is aligned in such a
way that it do not pass through any of the “Protected Area” specially through
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national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
 The Wildlife (Protection) Act (1972)
Even up-gradation of road projects acquiring additional land is
discouraged. Further, permission for up-gradation within existing
Right of Way (ROW) is granted under special circumstances where
there is no other alternative to that proposal is feasible due to
techno-economical or any other reasons.
• Procedure for obtaining “Environmental Clearance” is separate
then the “Wildlife Clearance” is as per the Wildlife (Protection) Act
(1972).
• “Wildlife Clearance” is prerequisite for obtaining “Environmental
Clearance”. Both of these clearances can be processed
concurrently by the project proponent/user agency.
Wildlife Appli. (NH-8) Check List (NH-8)

Wildlife Application (Form)

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 Wild Life Area Diversion Procedure
 If a project involves diversion of forest land from a notified wildlife area (National Park or
Wildlife Sanctuary) permission of Supreme Court is required.
 Application to be submitted to PCCF (Wildlife) /Nodal officer

 Site investigation by DCF (Incharge of Sanctuary./NP)

 The concerned DCF recommends to PCCF (Wildlife)

 The proposal is then processed within the state forest department - State Wildlife
Advisory Group
 Then recommended to the Standing committee of the National Board of Wildlife

 After the approval of the Standing committee of the National Board of Wildlife,

 Application to the Supreme Court for permitting diversion of the forest land.

 Approximately time period required – ??????

 Principally construction work of balance project road can not be carried out before final
permission of stretch within wildlife area is obtained. 34
Thank You..
 Tree Cutting Procedure

(a) ROW / Revenue area - Application to District Collector

(b) Forest area – Application to concerned DFO
(c) Tree inventory detail
 The Delhi Preservation of Trees Act (1994)
• Provide for Preservation of Trees in NCR of Delhi
• Restriction on Felling and Removal of Trees
• Tree – “ Any Woody Plant Whose Branches Spring from
and are Supported Upon a Trunk , Which is not less than
5cm in dia. at a Height of 30cm and is not Less than 1m
from Ground Level
• Girth Size Measured at 1.85m Above Ground Level
• Specifies Constitution of “Tree Authority” and “Tree
Officer”
• Species “Compensatory Afforestation” (1:10) in Lieu of
Trees Cut

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