Andhra Pradesh government compromises on green cover

Visakhapatnam: The Andhra Pradesh government has done an about-turn and compromised with its own ambitious attempt to ensure 50 per cent green cover in the state by simplifying the stringent tree-felling permission process it had put in place to facilitate ‘Ease of Doing Business.’

One of the major chang-es in the process, as per the government order, is that the applicant can self-certify if the trees to be fe-lled are categorised as ‘low risk’ by generating a ‘Felling Permission’ online, after complying with some guidelines. Teak, Yegisa, Nallamaddi, and Bandaru are included in the ‘high risk’ category trees. Trees other than red sanders, sandalwood, rosewood and some others specified in the state’s ‘Scheduled Areas’ can be cut down.

Environmentalists point out that this decision could be counter-productive to the plantation campaign. “The motto, ‘Ease of Doing Business’ should not result in ‘Ease in Felling Trees’,” said E.A.S. Sharma, retired IAS officer and environmentalist.

According to Forest department officials, the issuance of permission for cutting trees on non-forest land and non-Scheduled areas was taking a great deal of time due to the inspection policies and no time limit was being observed for granting or rejecting applications. Officers must henceforth complete inspections within 12 days of receipt of application online from divisional forest officer.

The Forest department’s website shows that out of 39 applications for permission to fell trees, 34 were accepted. Forest officials of the Vizag division refused to comment on the new amendment.

Mr Sharma has written to director general of forests Dr Sharad Singh Negi, urging him to advise the AP government to withhold the government order pending scrutiny by the ministry of environment, forests and climate change.

“Whether the tree growth is in private land or government land, it is to be treated as a “deemed” forest as per Article 48A of the Constitution, as per the various forest laws and the guidelines issued by the apex court. The ministry should intervene in such cases to protect existing tree cover and the forests,” Mr Sharma said.

He also pointed out that the AP government’s order on permission for tree felling makes no provision to protect mangroves or trees existing in “very sensitive areas”, such as the CRZ, eco-sensitive zones, urban areas or hilly areas. The categorisation of the trees and grouping of the eco-sensitive areas in the government did not conform to the MoEFCC’s guidelines, he alleged.