Nod for tree felling now to be granted within 15 days

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The state govt, in a move aimed at boosting ease of doing business, has mandated that permissions for tree felling in industrial and government projects be granted within 15 days as a special case.The earlier deadline for issuing the permission was 30 days. The General Administration Department (GAD) has already significantly reduced the number of mandatory documents required for obtaining tree felling permission. The earlier requirement of submitting 11 documents has now been curtailed to five.As per the revised norms, the applicants will now have to submit an updated 7/12 land extract with tree registration details, consent letters with photographs from all co-owners if multiple stakeholders are listed on the land record, a map of the survey or land parcel concerned, caste certificate if the applicant belongs to a Scheduled Tribe and an undertaking to carry out compensatory plantation against the trees felled.The corrigendum issued on Monday further states that proposals related to industrial and govt projects must be expedited and permissions granted within 15 days after "detailed scrutiny and verification." All other provisions of the 2017 circular will remain unchanged.Officials said changes are part of the state's broader push to improve industrial facilitation by cutting down procedural delays. "Reducing documentation and fixing a tighter timeline will help industries avoid unnecessary bottlenecks while ensuring due verification," a senior official said.However, environmental activists have raised concerns over the fast-tracking of tree felling permissions. Advocate Amitabh Singh said, "While ease of doing business is important, granting permissions within 15 days could compromise thorough environmental assessment. Trees are not just procedural hurdles; they are critical ecological assets."Activist Meera Kulkarni, said reduction in documentation must not lead to dilution of safeguards. "The govt must ensure that compensatory plantation is strictly monitored. Otherwise, this could lead to large-scale, unchecked tree loss under the guise of development," she said.The revised guidelines come at a time when several infrastructure and industrial projects across the state are seeking faster clearances, often citing delays due to procedural requirements in obtaining tree felling permissions.