As per the provisions laid down in the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006, as amended, the proposals are appraised and recommended by the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) at the Central level or State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) at the State level depending on the category of the project. Based on the recommendations of the aforesaid committee, projects are further considered by the Ministry or State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), as the case may be, for approval for grant of Environmental Clearance (EC) or otherwise. A total of 105 days, from the date of receipt of complete application, has been stipulated under the provisions of EIA Notification, 2006, as amended for conveying the decision on the EC proposal to the applicant.

As regards Forest Clearance (FC), the proposals for diversion of forest land for non-forestry purpose are processed as per the provisions of Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, which is a continuous process. The proposals received from the States/UTs for various non-forestry purposes are examined by the Central Government for their completeness and decision is taken as per extant Rules and guidelines on a case to case basis. In case the proposal is found incomplete, the same is returned back and the essential details are sought from the concerned State/UT. Based on the area of forest land involved in a proposal, the minimum time line of up to 85 working days and maximum time line of up to 160 working days has been prescribed under Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rules, 2023 for conveying decision on 'In-Principle' approval. The proposals are processed online on the PARIVESH portal and the status of each proposal is available in the public domain.

As per the information available on the PARIVESH portal, no irrigation schemes/projects of the State Government of Maharashtra are under consideration for EC at the Central Government. However, three (03 nos) irrigation projects of the State Government of Maharashtra namely (i) Asolamendha Renovation Project (Area 315.74 ha) in district Chandrapur, (ii) Sambarkund Medium Project (Area 263.540 ha) in district Raigad, (iii) Laying close Pipe Line distribution system from 600 mt to 1140 mt on Sorna Feeder Canal of Sorna Medium Project (Area 0.783 ha) in district Bhandara have been submitted on PARIVESH portal for diversion of forest land.                                                                                                                           

This information was given by Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

***

MJPS

(Release ID: 2035025) Visitor Counter : 279