2 min readApr 28, 2026 07:33 PM IST
Flagging submission of “undertakings” instead of furnishing details on compliance in cases of penal compensatory afforestation, the Union Environment Ministry has pulled up state governments and said this practice was causing delays in granting final forest approvals.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO
In a communication sent to the Additional Chief Secretaries and Principal Secretaries (Forests) of all states and Union Territories, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said it had observed a pattern of states submitting undertakings from user agencies like private companies, government departments or public sector undertakings, instead of providing complete details of penal compensatory afforestation as mandated under guidelines issued in January this year.
Under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, compensatory afforestation on non-forest land is mandated in lieu of non-forestry use of forest land for industries and infrastructure projects. Penal compensatory afforestation refers to restoration efforts ordered in addition to legally mandated compensatory afforestation.
No data was specified regarding the number of cases where compliance was incomplete, the communication said. User agencies are legally mandated to seek prior forest clearances for diversion of forest land to be used in industries or public projects.
“Submission of incomplete compliance, without fulfilling penal compensatory afforestation requirements, is leading to delays in grant of Stage-II approval, as the Ministry is constrained to seek requisite compliance again,” the Ministry said in its April 27 letter. States have also been directed to submit compliance duly supported by a verification report from the regional office, regarding suitability of the land proposed for such penal compensatory afforestation.
The letter comes after standardised guidelines were issued this January for penalising use of forest land without a prior clearance. The directive covers two categories of cases. Those where Stage-I or in-principle approval was granted before January 21 with a condition that penal CA provisions “as per uniform policy guidelines to be issued” would apply, and cases granted Stage-I approval on or after that date where penal compensatory afforestation has already been explicitly stipulated as a condition.
