New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has notified the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Amendment Rules, 2025. These revised Forest Conservation Amendment (FCA) rules expand the powers of state governments to divert forest land for infrastructure projects, while simultaneously weakening compensatory afforestation safeguards.
Expanded Permissions for Linear Projects
The notification modifies the definition of forest land diversion. It allows state governments to issue initial “working permission” for linear projects before final approval. These include preliminary works like road construction (excluding blacktopping and concretisation), railway track laying, and transmission line installation.
Earlier, state governments could mobilise resources only after receiving Stage-I approval for a project. Under the new rules, agencies can begin preparatory works much earlier, raising concerns about unchecked forest clearance.
Public Interest Clause Raises Concerns
Another significant change introduces an ambiguous clause on “public interest.” Projects categorised under defence, strategic importance, or emergent needs may bypass public scrutiny. Applications for such projects can now be submitted offline, reducing transparency.
Experts warn that this provision could shield multiple infrastructure projects from public oversight. A 2024 notification had already excluded defence and security-related projects from public disclosure on the Parivesh portal.
Compensatory Afforestation Rules Weakened
The amendment also alters compensatory afforestation (CA) guidelines. Afforested land diverted in exchange for forest land no longer needs to be notified as “protected forest.” Instead, it only requires mutation in favour of the Forest Department.
The rules also continue permitting degraded reserved forests to be counted towards CA obligations, a practice flagged as non-compliant with ecological restoration goals.
Supreme Court Orders at Odds
Legal experts argue that these changes violate Supreme Court interim orders from February 3 and March 4, 2025. The Court had directed that no steps be taken to reduce forest land unless compensatory land was provided for afforestation by the Centre or states.
Despite these directions, the new rules appear to dilute safeguards, potentially enabling further reduction of forest cover.
