PANJIM
Goa lost over 2,459.66 ha of forest land for non-forestry projects like mining, roads, water pipeline, double tracking of railway line and other infrastructure purposes in over two decades. Of these, almost 11 per cent, that is 280.56 ha of the land, was diverted in the last five years from 2019-23.
As per the data, nearly 40 per cent of this land was used for iron ore mining and dumping purposes while the other 60 per cent was towards government infrastructure projects. Goa lost a large chunk of its forest land in the early 90s.
In the last five years, the maximum of diversions took place in 2022, wherein authorities granted permission to divert 145.24 ha of land for four projects including southwest railway double tracking and Approach Surface Area to Manohar International Airport at Mopa.
The year 2021 also saw four projects getting approval to convert 32.04 ha of forest land. The projects included the construction of an expressway to the Mopa international airport.
For 2020, under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, permission was granted to divert 69.41 ha of forest land for laying Xeldem to Mapusa Transmission power line.
In the just concluded financial year, a total of 32.17 ha of land got diverted for two different projects- four laning-NH4A (Anmod to Mollem section and commissioning of new 110KV D/C Tower Line from Mollem to Collem for releasing 6000KVA Power supply to South Western Railway.
In 2019, hardly 0.92 ha of land got diverted for the development of the Freedom Fighters Memorial at Patradevi.
The state was provided with a compensatory afforestation fund (CAMPA), collected towards the diversion of forest land, to the tune of Rs 280.26 crore from 2009 to 2019. However, of this, only Rs 51.63 crore of the fund, was used by the state government for afforestation and forest conservation activities.
CAMPA, a body appointed by MoEF, was mandated by a Supreme Court judgment in 2002, to collect compensation money from projects that divert forest land for non-forest use. In Goa, the authority was put in place in 2009.
As per the forest officials, the State, with the largest forest cover, is finding it difficult to identify non-forest land for compensatory afforestation. The department has initiated a fresh process to identify the land to take up compensatory afforestation.
