HC lens on ‘tardy’ pace of afforestation in industrial areas

Cuttack: Orissa high court has ordered the appearance of Satyabrata Sahu, forest, environment and climate change secretary, over the allegation of ‘slow’ and ‘tardy’ compensatory afforestation, particularly in industrial areas. While issuing the order on Monday, Justice S K Panigrahi said, “The secretary, forest and environment, govt of Odisha, shall be present in court through virtual mode on Oct 8 to to apprise this court about the status of compensatory forest being created in the state especially in the aftermath of the industrialisation at different parts of the state.”The single-judge bench was hearing a petition on felling of trees in forest land in Dhinkia gram panchayat area in Jagatsinghpur district for an industrial project. The petition was filed by a resident of Dhinkia (Patana), Chandan Mohanty.The bench issued the order after senior advocate Ashok Kumar Parija, representing the company, submitted that no illegality had been committed as the Union ministry of environment and forest had granted permission for the diversion of 1,083.69 hectares of forest land. Since it is a greenfield project, it requires some forest clearance for setting up the plant and other activities in the area. But the project proponent will leave no stone unturned in creating forest in the vacant space in the project area, Parija submitted.

Amazon forest has lost an area the size of Germany and France

A study by RAISG reveals that the Amazon rainforest has lost an area equivalent to Germany and France combined due to deforestation over four decades. From 1985 to 2023, 12.5 percent of its plant cover was lost mainly for mining and agriculture, affecting climate regulation and increasing wildfire risks.

Greens write to forest ministry to safeguard W Ghats eco-sensitive areas

Environmental experts in Kolhapur, Sindhudurg, and Pune have appealed to the central government to reject Maharashtra's request for excluding 1,981 sqkm of land from Western Ghats eco-sensitive areas. They argue that reducing these protected zones will harm biodiversity and promote destructive mining and industrial activities.

Min orders to reclaim Rs 700-cr forest land in KR Pura

Forest officials in Bengaluru will reclaim 22.8 acres of forest land in Kothanur following a directive from Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre. Allocated for tree plantations in 1999-2000, the land was encroached upon and now includes buildings. The process to evict encroachers and recover the land has begun.