Two plots in Raigad district,marked as forest land but dereserved in 1972,have now delayed the final clearance from the forest department for the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA). According to the City Industrial Development Corporation Ltd (Cidco),the plots in Ulwe and Owale villages were dereserved and transferred to it in 1972. However,the forest department argued that the land is still listed under the forest category in its records. We hope this issue will be resolved soon, said Tanaji Satre,Managing Director,Cidco. Even if the two plots have been with Cidco,they have not been mandatorily dereserved as forest land under Section 27 of the Indian Forests Act. We have submitted our view to the government and feel there should be some clarity on this from a legal point of view, said Principal Chief Conservator of Forests,Nagpur division,Alok Kumar Joshi. A third plot,which has mangroves,has been cleared by the forest department. But Cidco will have to approach the Bombay High Court for the mandatory clearance to raze the mangroves. An official said this will happen only after clearances have been obtained for the other two plots. To convert a forest land into non-forest land,the interested party has to cough up a net present value (NPV) to the forest department as environmental cost. Even if the two plots meant for the proposed airport have been with Cidco for over three decades,the developing body might have to pay a few lakhs to the forest department,an official said. A senior state government official with the forest department said it was premature to talk about how much NPV Cidco will have to pay for these two plots. The land came to us in 1972,before the concept of NPV came into being in 1980, Satre said. For each hectare,it could cost as much as Rs 5-10 lakh,depending upon the density of the forest. The two plots in question measure 63 and 67 hectares. The CIDCO secured environmental clearance for NMIA last November. The project requires around 2,020 acres and the government is still negotiating the final rehabilitation package with landowners for around 20 per cent of the land yet to be acquired.
