Industry pushes for expanded compensatory afforestation on degraded forests

Industry representatives have requested that private development projects be permitted to undertake compensatory afforestation on twice the area of degraded forest land when suitable non-forest alternatives cannot be secured. The proposal stems from ongoing difficulties faced by project developers in securing adequate non-forest land for mandatory environmental offsets required under forest diversion rules.

Currently, when private projects require forest land clearance, developers are obligated to undertake compensatory afforestation as environmental mitigation. However, the scarcity of available non-forest land in forest-rich states has created bottlenecks in project approvals and implementation.

The industry bodies argue that utilizing degraded forest areas—lands already compromised in ecological quality—would serve dual purposes: fulfilling compensatory afforestation requirements while simultaneously improving forest cover and ecosystem health. By expanding afforestation on twice the degraded forest area compared to the original forest diversion, projects could demonstrate net environmental gains.

The proposal reflects broader tensions between industrial development and forest conservation in India's resource-rich regions. Forest officials and environmental groups have yet to formally respond to the industry's request, which would require policy amendments to existing forest conservation guidelines and environmental clearance procedures.