The Telugu Desam Party’s parting ways with its NDA ally BJP seems to have cast a shadow on the Andhra Pradesh Government’s projects in the State. The Central Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) has turned down the Chandra Babu Naidu dispensation’s proposal to divert 3307.27 hectare forest land for setting up a string of projects — eight in total — in the new capital Amaravati.
The projects include Adventure Eco Theme Park (150.84 hactres), Integrated Institutional Complex (434.85 hectares), E-5 park (371.80 hectares), Aerospace, Precision Engineering Innovation and Research and Green Mobility Park (1625.53 hectares), Bio-diversity Park (231.33 hectares), Eco-Tourism Village (118.30 hectares) and Science City (123.82 hectares) in the Guntur Forest Division.
The projects were to be constructed by the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) on the PPP mode. However, refusing to clear the projects, the FAC in its meeting held on November 15, 2018 said that the user agencies had not explored options to use non-forest lands for the project development. The TDP quit the NDA in March this year.
Intriguingly, the Ministry had given its in-principle approval to the proposal on September 20, 2017. The State Government had initially requested for diversion of 19256.8 hectares forest land which was revised to 13267 hectares and then to 12444.89 hectares of forest area, of which FAC considered only 2087.09 hectares as a special case, although this was non-site specific, in view of security reasons.
However, following intervention of the National Green Tribunal, the State Government submitted the proposal again early this year for central approval. The FAC sought a report from the Chennai regional office which submitted that the proposal is non-site specific.
Thereafter, refusing to give green signal, the FAC of the Union Environment Ministry said, “The State Government should make efforts to increase the total area under green cover, in line with some of the best capital regions in the country and also should make efforts in increasing the density of the existing RFs in the capital region.”
Considering all “the above facts FAC decided not to recommend for ‘in-principle’ approval for this proposal,” said the panel in its minutes of the meeting.
The panel members included, SD Vora (Member), Dr Sanjay Deshmukh (Member) DK Mohanty (Member) AK Mqhanty (Inspector General of Forests (FC)) Saibal Dasgupta( Addl. Director General of Forests (FC)) and Siddhanta Das (Director General of Forests and Special Secretary of the Environment Ministry).
