The Bombay high court has allowed the diversion of 94.68 hectares of forest and the cutting of 21,022 trees for the construction of 132-KV DC transmission lines from Dahanu sub-station to Suryanagar, Kavdas and Jawhar in Maharashtra’s Palghar, citing the infrastructural importance and assurances of compensatory afforestation.
Event Context
“We are satisfied that the project serves a public purpose and is an infrastructure project,” a bench of acting chief justice Ravindra Ghuge and justice Gautam Ankhad said on Tuesday.
Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Ltd (MSETCL) approached the court as a September 2018 order prohibited non-forest activities in and around mangrove areas without the court’s prior permission. The company told the court that the proposed transmission lines are 80 km and certain segments of them pass through protected and mangrove forests in Dahanu and Jawhar.
MSETCL said the maps showed 8.21 hectares of mangrove forests would be affected. It cited a site survey showing that there are no mangroves in the area and it is barren land. But the deputy conservator of forests (Dahanu) instructed MSETCL to obtain the court’s permission before starting work on the project in view of the classification of the land as mangrove forest.
Advocate general, Milind Sathe, who appeared for MSETCL, told the court that all statutory permissions required for the work had been obtained. He added ₹30.80 crore had been deposited with the forest department for compensatory afforestation, upkeep and maintenance for 10 years.
Sathe said that non-mangrove compensatory afforestation for the 21,022 trees to be felled would be done over 191 hectares of degraded forest areas in Solapur district. He added that it would be done for the 8.21 hectares of mangrove area on 25 hectares of degraded forest in North Konkan.
Match Outlook
The court considered Sathe’s assurance that the concern it had expressed earlier regarding apathy and the unsatisfactory state of mangrove re-plantation and compensatory afforestation will be addressed and the commitments shall be translated into actual implementation. “We are inclined to grant the relief sought only because of the categorical assurances…that both the mangrove plantation and the compensatory afforestation shall be undertaken in accordance with law and that the plantations shall thereafter be adequately protected, maintained and monitored…to ensure their survival,” the bench said.
The court directed the company to submit a status-cum-audit report by January 12 every year for 10 years regarding implementation of the afforestation and mangrove plantation programme, to ensure continued compliance with the conditions.
