First Project in Haryana to Get Post-facto Environmental Clearance

• 30 Dec 2023

Why in News?

Recently, a private university built on protected Aravali land was given a post-facto approval by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).

• It is the first project in Haryana to get post-facto environmental clearance since the Forest Conservation Act (FCA), 1980 was amended.

Key Points

• Categorized under sections 4 and 5 of Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), 1900 the university lies on 13.6 hectares of Aravali land, which prohibits deforestation, resale and fragmentation of land without prior permission.
• Due to the amended act the government can approve projects or industries that had begun functioning without obtaining prior environment clearance and disclosing their environmental impact after a review in line with provisions of the Act.
• The committee gave its approval on few conditions:
  • The land should not pass through any national park, wildlife sanctuary, elephant, or tiger reserve.
  • The university identifies an equal area of non-forest land for compensatory afforestation and should carry out plantation on it.
• In exceptional cases regional forest department offices have been directed to examine and process such proposals and forward them to the ministry with comments and recommendations for appropriate decisions.
• The amended FCA states that it will be applicable to land parcels "notified" as forest according to the Indian Forest Act, 1927. The revised FCA is not applicable in areas converted from forest for non-forest purposes by any government authority authorized by the state before December 12, 1996.
• On December 12, 1996, the Supreme Court delivered its landmark judgment in the Union of India Vs T N Godavarman case ordering application of the FCA to any area that qualified as a forest as per its dictionary meaning.