91.6 sq kms of area is currently notified as private forest in state
PANAJI
In view of scarcity of degraded land, Goa is likely to make use of private forest land to raise the compensatory afforestation (CA), against the forest areas diverted for various developmental works. The Advisory Committee of the Union Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has recommended use of private forest for CA in the coastal State.
Total 91.6 sq kms of area is currently notified as private forest in the State, while it intends to take up 130 ha of CA in the ongoing financial year.
The Forest Advisory Committee of the Ministry during its meeting held in July, accepted the State’s request to make use of private forest for CA stating that such land may be considered at par with the revenue forest lands for the purpose of raising CA.
“These private forest lands may be used for compensatory afforestation and double in extent to the forest land being diverted, and are transferred and mutated and subsequently notified as PF under Indian Forest Act, 1927/ local forest Act, as per the provisions of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rules, 2023 and Guidelines issued thereunder,” the Committee said.
The Committee noted that the guidelines provide that the revenue lands/zudpi jungle/chhote/bade jhar ka jungle/jungle-jhari land/civil-soyam lands and all other such categories of lands, on which the provisions of FC Act, 1980 are applicable, can be considered for the purpose of compensatory afforestation provided such lands on which compensatory afforestation is proposed shall be notified as Reserve Forest (RF) under the Indian Forest Act, 1927.
“Private forest lands may be considered for the purpose of raising compensatory afforestation, provided these lands are recorded as forest lands in Government records and are treated as forest lands under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan), Adhiniyam 1980,” it said.
In 2024, in two separate orders, the government had notified 45.5 sq kms and 46.1 sq kms of area in the State as private forest in compliance with an order by the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
The State appointed review committee under the Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF) to review private forest areas -- identified by the Thomas and Araujo Committees -- has recommended an additional 10.75 sq kms of area to be notified as private forest and the same is under consideration of the government.
According to the Annual Operation Plan of the State, the forest department intends to take up 487.98 ha of CA over a period of three years. This year, it will take 130 ha of CA while another 178.49ha each in 2026-27 and 2027-28.
As per data, since 1980 till December 2024, the State has managed to take up a total of 3079 ha of CA and penal CA towards diversion of around 2362.80 ha forest land under Forest Conservation Act, 1980.
