New Delhi, July 20 (IANS) Two hundred and fifty-four proposals to divert 50,818 hectares of protected forest land have been approved by the government since the Forest (Conservation) Act was passed in 1980, parliament was informed Monday.
Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh informed the Rajya Sabha in response to a question that the maximum amount of protected forest land, 12,579.12 hectares, had been diverted for coal mining in Chhattisgarh, followed by Andhra Pradesh (12,709.62 hectares), Madhya Pradesh (10,980.37), Jharkhand (7,545.33), Orissa (2,899.99), Uttar Pradesh (1,984.83) and Maharashtra (1,815.09).