Says will be submitted to National Green Tribunal
PANAJI
Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane on Sunday said the State will finalise a factual report on private forest areas by May 30, which will then be submitted to the National Green Tribunal.
Addressing the media, Rane said the exercise is aimed at ensuring a “proper assessment” of private lands, noting that several landowners had suffered due to inaccuracies in earlier demarcation reports. He added that the forest department has been directed to carry out the process transparently to avoid any scope for manipulation.
The State’s criteria for identifying private forests require that the land be contiguous to government forest areas; in cases where it is isolated, a minimum extent of five hectares is necessary. In 2024, the government, through two separate notifications, classified 45.5 sq km and 46.1 sq km of land as private forest in compliance with NGT directives.
A Review Committee headed by the Chief Conservator of Forests is currently reassessing areas earlier identified by the Thomas and Araujo Committees.
Rane clarified that no new survey numbers will be added in the final report. “Only those already identified will be taken into consideration — whether to retain them as private forest or remove them from the list,” he said.
He further stressed that only areas meeting the prescribed criteria will be retained as private forests, adding that the responsibility lies with forest department officials. “The officers are accountable for this; there is no interference from the minister,” he said.
According to committee findings across multiple reports, 4.70 sq km of land was recommended as private forest in the first report. Subsequent reports proposed 2.25 sq km and 7.69 sq km (second and third), 14.31 sq km (fourth), 3.92 sq km (fifth), and 11.6 sq km (sixth).
The seventh report proposed over 20 sq km, while the eighth and ninth reports together recommended 10.84 sq km. The tenth report has proposed 8.93 sq km of land to be notified as private forest in the State.
