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<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:rgb(105, 105, 105); font-family:arial; font-size:11px; line-height:1.6em">The Uttarakhand government has sought a special dispensation for use of forest land to speed up construction of rural roads in the state, crucial to its reconstruction and development efforts.</span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">The government has asked that the relaxation for forest clearance given to Naxal-affected areas for construction of rural roads be extended to Uttarakhand as well.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">Public infrastructure projects requiring diversion of no more than five hectares of forest land, including construction of rural roads and quarrying for materials used for these roads, in Naxal-affected districts are not required to seek clearance under the Forest Conservation Act of 1980.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">For these projects, approvals for diversion can be given at the level of the state government or the environment ministry&#39;s regional office.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">Construction of rural roads in the hilly areas of the state invariably requires diversion of forest land, which requires approvals from the central government. This results in delays in undertaking such public infrastructure projects.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">Uttarakhand is not the only state seeking such an exemption. Other hilly states would like this special dispensation for the rural roads programmes as well.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">In this context, rural development minister Jairam Ramesh has written to environment minister Veerappa Moily, asking him to consider exempting construction of rural roads in hilly areas from the mandatory forest clearance.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">Ramesh&#39;s ministry oversees Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna, a central government sponsored scheme to provide all weather road connectivity in rural areas of the country.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">Ramesh is of the view that extending the special dispensation to the hilly states would &quot;significantly accelerate the pace of construction of rural roads, which have been held up for many years&quot;. The minister had conveyed his support to the chief ministers&#39; demand to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in June.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">The request to exempt rural roads projects from seeking forest clearance has been pending for nearly seven months now. Uttarakhand chief minister Vijay Bahuguna had written to Singh in June explaining that since forest cover in the hill districts ranges from 50% to 85%, the majority of the rural roads projects would involve diversion of forest land.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">Source-On Request</span></span></span></p>