Navy radar station in Vikarabad: Telangana High Court seeks state’s detailed report on afforestation

“We have got the compliance reports under stage 2 clearance from the user agency. MoEFCC also advocates that. How far it has come on the ground is what we want to know,” the bench told Ch. Ravi Kumar, the assistant government pleader representing the Forest Department.

“Give all the details as to when these are planted, what is the survival rate, and how much of the land meant for afforestation has actually been used, and how much is still left? Give a report,” the bench said.

During the hearing, the bench noted that the Eastern Naval Command had submitted its counter affidavit on February 9, and the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) submitted an affidavit on February 17 stating that each of the conditions mentioned in their approval for stage 2 clearance for the project has been duly complied by the user agency, the Eastern Naval Command.

Afforestation duty lies with forest dept: Naval Command

B Narasimha Sharma, Additional Solicitor General of India, representing the Eastern Naval Command and MoEFCC, said each of the 10 conditions for stage 2 clearance has been complied with. However, the duty of afforestation lies with the state forest department as the user agency had deposited over Rs 300 crore with the department for the afforestation measures, he submitted.

Sharma argued that no tree was felled in the project, and about 8,000 were translocated with a survival rate of 98 per cent.

The amicus curiae, Vivek Jain, then placed his note compiling the affidavits furnished earlier and the compliance made under stages 1 and 2 together.  He said afforestation has been done by the Forest Department in about 680 acres, as against 2,300 acres identified for the same.

The bench then asked the counsel for the Forest Department what it had done after receipt of deposits towards the net present value and compensatory afforestation fund.

The Forest Department reported that 3,47,143 plants had been planted in Vikarabad district and 5,67,053 plants in the nearby Amangal division of Rangareddy district. Additionally, it mentioned that the user agency had contributed Rs 7,427 lakh towards the compensatory afforestation fund, Rs 5926.11 lakh towards net present value, and Rs 1856.85 lakh towards 25 per cent of compensatory afforestation (soil and moisture conservation). The counsel for the Forest Department also noted that 8,067 trees had been translocated and 25,000 plants introduced.

On a specific query, the ASGI replied that 11,74,000 plants need to be planted for afforestation, and that the state government has already planted 9 lakh plants.

However, expressing dissatisfaction with the Forest Department for the lack of details regarding the afforestation efforts, the bench instructed the department to provide the necessary data.

The amicus curiae was then tasked with visiting the site to assess the on-ground execution, and was directed to coordinate with the counsel for the forest department for arranging a day of visit.