The 1.6 km long Kuthiran tunnel running through Peechi-Vazahani wildlife sanctuary in Thrissur has eased traffic, but it resulted in felling of a large number of trees. Now to compensate for the loss of green cover on forest land for the tunnel, Kerala Government has decided to convert 1.4318 hectares of revenue land in Kasaragod to forest by undertaking an afforestation project.
The state government has issued an order transferring the ownership of the revenue land at Bheemanady village in Vellarikundu Taluk to the Forest Department for compensatory afforestation. This land has been classified as Assessed Waste Land (AW) and has thick green cover. It does not come under any restricted/reserved/protected land types, the order said.
“We felled large number of trees resulting in deforestation for the Kuthiran tunnel project. The government has been considering a lot of alternative sites for taking up the compensatory afforestation project. Finally, the cabinet has approved the land identified at Bheemanady Village. The specified land will be notified as forest land and it will be protected. After studying the ecology and topography, the forest department will undertake an afforestation project at the land,” the officials said.
The afforestation will be carried out as per the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The guidelines issued under the Forest Conservation Act 1980 says, the compensatory afforestation is to be raised on suitable non-forest land, equivalent to the area proposed for diversion, at the cost of the user agency.
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