Pune: Forest department data indicates a decrease in conversion of land in Pune notified and demarcated as reserved forest land in the last five years, alarming environmentalists. As per the RTI information, obtained by Jeetendra Ghadge of "The Young Whistleblowers Foundation" in August this year, only 549 hectares of forest land were notified as reserved forest land in 2023-24 in Pune, a stark decrease from 1,750 hectares declared in 2019, with some variations in a few years, like in 2021-22, when 2,598 hectares of land were declared as reserved forest land. The process of declaring an area as a reserved forest is governed by the Indian Forest Act of 1927, a key piece of legislation designed to protect and regulate forest resources.
The procedure begins with a notification under Section 4, which initiates an inquiry into rights and claims over the land. The final declaration under Section 20 formally establishes the area as a reserved forest, subjecting it to stringent protection measures. According to Ghadge, the main reason behind this is the real estate lobby and local apprehensions about demarcations.
"When any site is declared under Section 4 of the Act, many objections are raised by real estate developers. The land cost is so high that no one would want to let go of it. Along with this, there is backlash from agricultural landowners and farmers, which needs to be taken care of.
There was some progress from 2019 to 2022, however, it has reduced significantly. There shou.
