Some 15,000 hectares of forest land are to be cleared for 49 forthcoming projects, including mining, irrigation and windmills. According to experts, this would mean dense forest approximately one-fifth of the size of the Corbett National Park.

And this figure does not include trees being cleared for public sector works or other projects requiring less than 40 hectares of land, for which the proposal need not come to the Central Government.

For now, these three million trees are still standing. Even though all the projects have been approved, they are being examined by a Central Empowered Committee set up by the Supreme Court.

In one of its reports, the court said: “Each and every proposal received under the Forest Conservation Act is ultimately found eligible for approval with standard conditions, even when individual projects involve felling more than a million trees.”

Under the Forest Conservation Act, whenever a diversion of more than 40 hectares of forest land is required for a project, it comes to the MoEF. A Forest Advisory Committee goes through each of the proposals and suggests necessary safeguards before approving them.

The contention of the Central Empowered Committee is that these clearances are being given regardless of available alternatives, the number of trees involved, the damage to flora and fauna and the sensitivity of the area. It has recommended a re-examination of the projects.

Though it comes with a caveat of compensatory afforestation, this figure is important. The last State of the Forest Report, published by the Forest Survey of India, noted that out of a total of 76.84 million hectares of total forest area, India had lost over 26,000 sq km of dense forest mostly due to industrialisation between 2001 and 2003. Over this time, the green cover increased by just 2,795 sq km.

Experts wonder if the Government considered any of this while approving clearance of 15,000 hectares of forest in just one year.

In these projects, maximum number of trees are being cut

• Amelia coal block, Sidhi, Madhya Pradesh: 14.83 lakh trees to be cut, making it the maximum for a single project. The return is nearly 10 million tonnes of coal annually. The Supreme Court panel has noted that the Government is just a minority shareholder in the project, and hence, there is even more reason to examine it carefully

• Rowghat Iron Ore Mining Project, Chhattisgarh: 883 hectares of forest land to be cleared for the project, and another 259 more to lay a rail line to carry the ore. This means felling of 2.95 lakh trees. Incidentally, the project was earlier rejected as it involved felling of a large number of trees

• Three irrigation projects, Maharashtra: Together, the Human River Project, Lower Penganaga Major Irrigation Project and Jigoan Irrigation Project involve cutting of 3.38 lakh trees. Again, the projects were earlier rejected on ground of felling of two many trees