The Indian government, clearly jolted by the armed standoff with China at Dokalam on the
Sikkim border, has waived the requirement of environmental approval for defence infrastructure
projects up to a distance of 100 km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.
The waiver order was issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change
on 28 August, the day India and China decided to disengage in the Dokalam region, an Indian
Express report said today.
The Army had in the past raised concerns over the slow pace of green clearances delaying
key infrastructure projects, the report says.
During the standoff too, concerns were raised about poor Army infrastructure in areas along
the LAC for transporting forces and ammunition, even as China has successfully built roads
and railway lines up to the LAC.
The environment ministry in 2014 gave 'general approval' under Section 2 of the Forest Conservation
(Act), 1980, for use of forest land for construction and widening of a two-lane road by the Border
Roads Organisation (BRO) and other road construction agencies entrusted with the job by the ministry
of defence in areas falling within 100 km aerial distance of the LAC.
The latest order extends the general approval to military infrastructure projects like ammunition
depots, barracks and logistics hubs, among others.
With this, the Army no longer needs approvals from the ministry's Forest Appraisal Committee
(FAC) for using forest land for non-forest purposes.
The time needed for forest approvals ranges from a minimum of three months to one year.
''Earlier, in 2014, we had given general approval for roads by BRO.
Now, this general approval is extended to army infrastructure projects.
How will we save the environment if the country is not safe?'' said an environment ministry
official.
The 3,500-km LAC with China traverses five states - Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh,
Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
Skirmishes and minor stand-offs between the Indian Army and China's People's Liberation
Army are common along the line, but the Dokalam stand-off was unusually protracted, triggered
after China tried to build a road in territory which belongs to Bhutan and is strategically
significant for India.
Minister of state for home affairs Kiren Rijiju had informed Parliament in July that infrastructure
development is happening at a steady pace along the LAC and that Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh,
Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir have set up empowered committees to sort out issues
related to land acquisition, forest / wildlife clearance and allotment of quarries, among
others.
The home ministry is also reviewing defence infrastructure development projects on a real-time
basis and a steering committee under the secretary (border management) has been set up to monitor
the progress of these projects.
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