27 Jan 2024| 06:38am ISTSC rejects plea to revisit criteria to identity pvt forestsApex Court turns down Goa Foundation plea of canopy density of 0.1 (10%) and size of 1 ha as classifications of forests; says existing criteria for identification of private forests adequateTeam HeraldPANJIM: The Supreme Court rejected the NGO Goa Foundation’s appeal to revisit the Goa government’s criteria to identify private forests, stating that the existing criteria for identification of private forests in the State are adequate and valid, and hence require no alteration. The effect would be that even for a minor development on the concerned land, the permission of the government under the FCA 1980, for the landholders would become indispensable. The Court observed that the appellant was attempting to take a contrary stand on the issue of criteria for the identification of forests, namely, suggesting a change in criteria for the identification of deemed forests under private ownership. On the one hand, the appellant is challenging the criteria adopted by the Sawant and Karapurkar Committees for the identification of among other things private forests and on the other hand has relied on the same criteria adopted by these two committees for the identification of forests, including private forests, before the National Green Tribunal (NGT). The Goa Foundation had challenged the criteria issued by the Goa government and others for the identification of ‘forests’ in the State.

Source: The Herald January 27, 2024 20:04 UTC