Govt Scraps Forest Plantation Fees, Activists Warn of Ecological Risk

ENVIRONMENT
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AuthorAnanya Iyer|Published at:
Govt Scraps Forest Plantation Fees, Activists Warn of Ecological Risk
Overview

The Union government has amended forest conservation rules, removing financial and ecological obligations like Net Present Value (NPV) payments and compensatory afforestation for private commercial plantations in forest areas. While aiming to facilitate forestry activities, the move has drawn sharp criticism from environmentalists and former officials who fear weakened conservation safeguards and increased risks to biodiversity and tribal rights.

New Rules for Private Forest Plantations

The central government has overhauled forest conservation regulations, allowing private entities to conduct commercial plantations in forest areas without mandatory environmental levies or compensatory afforestation. This significant shift, notified by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), reclassifies such projects as 'forestry activities'.

The amended rules, enacted under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 2023, exempt plantations approved by state governments, aligned with working plans, and supervised by forest departments from paying Net Present Value (NPV) and establishing compensatory afforestation plots. NPV is a crucial one-time charge compensating for the loss of ecosystem services like clean air and biodiversity. State governments will now have discretion in designing utilization frameworks and revenue-sharing models for these plantations, provided a Detailed Project Report (DPR) is prepared and approved.

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