Gandhinagar, May 21: The Gujarat government has decided to send a consolidated proposal to the central government for the transfer of protected forest land required for future road widening projects. This decision was made during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Wednesday.
Government spokesperson and minister Jitu Vaghani stated that the Chief Minister has directed officials to plan in advance for cases where protected forest areas fall within the boundaries of roads identified for future expansion.
After the meeting, Minister Vaghani informed reporters that the state should identify roads that include protected forest land and where widening is planned. He emphasized that consolidated proposals for the transfer of such protected forest areas should be sent to the central government immediately.
He also mentioned that the state government will arrange for non-forest land to be allocated to the forest department in exchange for the proposed forest land, aiming to expedite the approval process.
Furthermore, to ensure quick action on these land transfer proposals, non-forest land will be made available to the forest department in exchange for protected forest areas.
According to the state government, the Roads and Buildings Department has completed or initiated widening work on approximately 1,000 hectares of land across the state.
Considering future road expansion plans and the protected forests notified by the forest department, the state has estimated that around 2,000 hectares of forest land may be needed for transfer in the coming years.
Officials reported that under the compensation scheme, the Roads and Buildings Department has already identified about 1,000 hectares of non-forest land in Shah village of the Lakhpat taluka in Kutch district.
The state government has also projected that approximately 2,000 hectares of non-forest land will be required in the future to ensure timely action on land conversion proposals.
The government anticipates that this initiative will reduce administrative complexities associated with land acquisition and forest approval processes.
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