881 development projects approved in national parks, 95,724.99 ha of forest land diverted in last 5 years: Government data

Aksheev Thakur

New Delhi, July 22

In the last five years, 95,724.99 ha of the forest land has been diverted for non-forestry use.

In this period, 881 projects have been approved in the wildlife sanctuaries and national parks as well, Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Kirti Vardhan Singh told the Lok Sabha on Monday.

The statistics presented by the minister shows that there is an 83 per cent rise in the approval of projects in the national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.

While in 2019-20, 71 non-forest projects were approved. In the period 2023-24, over 421 such projects were approved. The non-forestry projects include laying of railway tracks, widening of roads, mining and other infrastructure related projects.

The highest diversion of forest was in Madhya Pradesh with a staggering figure of 22,614.74 ha followed by 13,621.95 ha in Odisha.

While 1,073 non-forestry projects were approved and 1,912.42 ha were diverted in Punjab, 1,451 projects were approved in the forests of Haryana spanning 1,855.29 ha. 328 projects in 2,058.14 ha of the forests in Himachal Pradesh were approved and 468 projects in 3,323.48 ha of the forests in Uttarakhand were approved.

Proposals for developmental activities within National Parks, Sanctuaries, Tiger Reserves, Tiger Corridors and those activities requiring environmental clearance inside Eco-Sensitive Zones around national parks and sanctuaries are forwarded by state governments for consideration by the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wild Life which is chaired by the Union environment minister.

Singh said that the government has formulated guidelines to mitigate the impact of linear infrastructure projects like railway lines on wildlife. “These guidelines suggest suitable mitigation measures for linear infrastructure projects taking into consideration factors such as terrain, animal behaviour patterns, animal migration routes, and other relevant parameters,” he said.

Projects approved in wildlife sanctuaries and national parks

Forest land diversion in the region