New Delhi/Keonjhar: The Union Environment Ministry has asked the Odisha government to penalise officials for allowing construction of an Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS) in Keonjhar district without the mandatory forest clearance.
The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC), in its September 26 meeting, noted that the EMRS, a flagship initiative of the Tribal Affairs Ministry and the Odisha government, was built on 1.80 hectares of forest land without prior approval of the Ministry under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, violating the Forest Conservation Act.
The project site at Erendei village, Patna tehsil, includes 2.803 hectares of recorded forest land and 0.456 hectares of non-forest land.
The district administration admitted the lapse, stating the construction was taken up on the basis of the then-available land records which classified the site as non-forest, which was later identified as “Jungle Kissam” after verification of old records. “The Tehsildar transparently reported the matter to the district welfare officer and the collector. Though construction was already underway, the matter was promptly reported to the Forest Department and a forest diversion proposal was initiated to regularize the inadvertent violation,” The Hindu reported, quoting the state’s submission.
Though subsequent inspections by forest officials confirmed the construction was done in good faith, without malicious intent, the FAC, while condemning the procedural lapse, recommended disciplinary action against officials concerned and imposed a penalty of up to five times the Net Present Value (NPV) of the forest land per hectare, plus 12% simple interest.
The regional office of the Environment Ministry in Bhubaneswar, while supporting the proposal, also advised that “since the instant proposal is a public utility project, diversion of 2.8 ha of forest land is recommended with the condition that five times penal NPV, penal CA may be imposed and action against erring officials may be initiated besides the general standard conditions”, the report added.