Thursday, 01 February 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The State PWD minister Satpal Maharaj has written a letter to the Union minister for environment, forest and climate change Bhupendra Yadav on Wednesday regarding the hiccups coming in the way of forest land acquisition required for motor road construction to facilitate easy transportation of the people living in the mountainous areas of the State. As per the State government officers privy to the details, the minister not just raised the land acquisition obstacles with the Union minister but proffered suggestions as to how these obstacles could be removed.
The minister is said to have mentioned in the letter that with about 80 per cent of the geographical area of the State being mountain areas and 70 per cent being forested, the forest land acquisition is an imperative for the construction of motor roads. Maharaj informed the Union minister through the letter that though a little more than one hectare of forest land is required for the road purpose they would have to acquire the land twice in extent for implementing the compensatory tree plantation provision.
However, the forest land acquisition is being hindered by the fact that the forest department does not find the land earmarked for compensatory tree plantation suitable with the land having sharp slopes covered by dense forest.
In view of this, Maharaj appealed to the Union minister to ensure that given the adverse geographical conditions of Uttarakhand, the equivalent area of land to be acquired for the road construction projects is to be acquired for compensatory tree plantation instead of the present stipulation of two times. He further suggested the degraded forest land owned by the forest department to be used for compensatory tree plantation.
He further said that given the land scarcity in Uttarakhand, the Centre might take initiative to convince other States to use lands from their land banks for the compensatory tree plantation for Uttarakhand in the interests of this Himalayan State. He requested the union minister to issue guidelines on the suggestions given by him.
