F.No.8-126-2011/FC

Diversion of 86.44 ha for construction of multipurpose port in Taluka, , by Rewas Port Ltd.,

1. The State Government of Maharashtra vide its letter no. FLD-131/CR-39/F-10 dated 7.12.2011 has submitted the above mentioned proposal seeking approval of the Central Government under Section – 2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. 2. The proposal envisages development of the Rewas Port is Joint venture between Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB), Government of Maharashtra and Rewas Port Ltd., It is stated that the project will be a economic booster to the local area in Raigad district.1065.285 ha non-forest land is involved in this project. The forests presently found around the Arabian sea and most of the land are eroded and washed away by sea and forms part of the intertidal zone/coastal wetland.541 trees are needed to be felled on approx. 3.0 ha land. 3. The facts of the proposal as contained in the State Government’s letter dated 7.12.2011 are given below in the form of a fact sheet:

FACT SHEET 1. Name of the proposal Diversion of 86.44 ha for construction of multipurpose port in Alibag Taluka, Raigad district, Maharashtra by Rewas Port Ltd., 2 Location (i) State Maharashtra (ii) District Raigad 3. Particulars of Forests. (i) Name of forest Alibag Forest Division Division (ii) Forest area 87.82 ha involved. (iii) Legal status RF-63.043 ha , PF-1.97 ha , unclassed forest 21.427.(p-1/c) (iv) Map Toposheet 1: 10,000 and other maps including 1: 50,000 given 4. (i) Vegetation Babhul,Suru,Acacia,etc.,(p-16/c)

(ii) Density Forest land is eroded and no standing trees. 541 trees in 3 ha land.

(iii) No. of trees to be 541 (p-16/c) felled 5. Brief note on vulnerability The land is eroded by sea of forest area to erosion 6. Approximate distance of The proposal in on isolated pocket of forest land. proposal site for diversion from boundary of forest 7. Whether the area is It does not form a part of protected area and is 10 significant from wildlife Km beyond boundary of protected areas (p-24/c) point of view 8. Whether any No rare/endangered unique species of flora and faura found in the area. If so details there of. 9. Whether any protected No archeological/ heritage site/ Defence establishment or any other important monument is located in the area.

10. Whether any work in No (p-17/c) violation of Act has been carried out 11. Whether the requirement of Yes(p-17/c) forest land as proposed by the user agency is unavoidable and barest minimum for the project. If no, recommended area item wise with details of alternatives examined. 12. Details of compensatory CA on equivalent non forest land in village Kotwal afforestation. Budruk,Taluka ,District Raigad under forest division.It is contiguous and suitable for afforestation and management purposes and free from encroachment. 13. Division/district profile. (i) Geographical 7172 Sq.Km area of the district (ii) Forest area of 1647.68 Sq.Km the district. (iii) Total forest area 61 no of cases with area 857.3327 ha diverted since 1980 with number of cases. (iv) Total CA stipulated in the district /division since 1980 (a) forest Land 240.4316 ha (b) Non forest land 611.194 ha

(v) Progress of CA (a) Forest land 237.8336 ha (b) Non forest land 637.927 ha 14. Rehabilitation of oustees No relocation involved

15. Project cost 5419.09 crores

16. Cost benefit ratio. 95.34 17. Employment likely Average 2000 persons. generated. 18. Recommendation Recommended by All (i) DFO p-18/c (ii) Nodal officer p-21/c (iii) State p-26/c Government

4. Other Remarks i. The project authority has agreed to defray the cost of Compensatory Afforestation for 10 years, NPV and clearance of vegetation. ii. The project area is outside scheduled tribal area. iii. The Environmental clearance has been accorded vide letter dated 3/05/07 and corrigendum dt 08/06/2007. iv. The project area is not within the Scheduled Tribal Area. v. It is stated that the project authority has fulfilled the compliance under FRA, 2006 (p- 2/c). 5. The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests has recommended the project with the following additional conditions i. Provide cost of barbed wire fencing and fulltime chowkidar for each part of the CA land separately. ii. The project authority will contribute a corpus of Rs.30 lakhs to Adhoc-CAMPA which would be used for welfare activities beneficial to local villagers involved in the project. iii. The Project authority will pay the cost of old plantation.

6. The proposal was considered by the FAC in its meeting held on 27th January,2012 and the Committee noted that the proposal was discussed in its meeting held on 11th and 12th January, 2012 and had recommended that the project authority and the nodal officer of the State be invited to present the details. The FAC observed that the area proposed for diversion for the project is 86.44 ha of forest land while 1065.285 ha non-forest land is involved in this project. The nodal officer, Maharashtra informed that as per order of Hon’ble High Court of Maharashtra dated 27th January, 2010, the area covered by the mangroves whether it falls under the public or the private domain, no non forests activity should be permitted by the State which shall be subject to Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and Environment Protection Act and Rules. The nodal officer also informed that the mangrove areas in non forest land needs verification. The FAC noted with concern that the State Government has forwarded the proposal without paying due attention to the High Court order. After detailed deliberations, the committee recommended that the State Government should submit the following for further consideration i. The mangrove areas in the entire project area, impact on mangrove vegetation and the mitigative measures. ii. The cover map of the entire project area including areas outside notified forests and photographs of the area depicting important aspects of forestry and wildlife. iii. The impact of the area on wildlife including nesting sites and the mitigative measures. 7. The State Government of Maharashtra vide its letter dated 11.06.2012 (Pg 146/c) has submitted the desired information as given below: i. No Mangrove area has been noticed in the area included in the project. ii. The map and photographs of the entire area and area outside notified forests were furnished by the State Government ( Pg 155-162/c. iii. As the area of the project lies between High tide and low tide, no existence and occurrence of wildlife is seen. Therefore, mitigative measures not needed 8. The above information, furnished by the State Government, was again considered by the FAC in its meeting held on 16.08.2012 and the Committee after detailed deliberations on proposal desired following information from the State Government: i. Detailed land use map for the forest land proposed for diversion; ii. The survey of India toposheet, in original, indicating location of the forest land proposed for diversion; and iii. Digital map (duly authenticated by competent authority in the State Government) of the forest land proposed for division prepared by using Total Station or differential GPS.

9. The observations of the FAC were communicated to the State Government by the MoEF, vide its letter dated 20.09.2012 (pg 175/c). The State Government vide their letter dated 13.12.2012 (Pg 179-188/c) has submitted following information on the observation of FAC: i. The project authority has stated that 86.44 ha of forest land proposed for diversion for construction of multipurpose port is in the inter-tidal area i.e. between the low tide line and high tide line. The whole of the forest land area is eroded and submerged in the sea and therefore specific land use pattern for the subject land is not applicable. Further project authority has stated that the diverted forest land will be used for the purpose of multipurpose port for container freight station, storage yard and other terminal facilities. ii. The relevant Toposheet in original concerning to the forest land proposed for diversion has been collected from Survey of India, Pune. The said forest land proposed for diversion has been marked/indicated on the original Toposheet and are attached herewith. iii. The project authority has stated that entire forest land is submerged in sea, which is also reflected in the joint inspection report prepared by Deputy Conservator of Forests, Alibag. Further project authority has stated that they are unable to undertake the survey using total station or differential GPS for preparation of the Digital Map. The project authority has attached the revenue village map showing the forest area. In view of the above facts if approved, the proposal may be submitted to the FAC for its consideration during its next meeting.