AGENDA ITEM NO.6 File No.8-64/2008-FC Diversion Of

AGENDA ITEM NO.6 File No.8-64/2008-FC Diversion of 242.390 ha of forest land for rehabilitation of villages Ravandi, Adoshi, maldoshi, Kusapur & Khirkindi (Koyana Wildlife Sanctuary) in Thane district of Maharashtra (F. No. 8-64/2008-FC) The State Government of Maharashtra vide their letter No. FLD-1207/CR-339/F-10 dated 18th March, 2008 submitted a fresh proposal seeking prior approval of the Central Government under Section-2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 for diversion of 242.390 ha of forest land for rehabilitation of villages Ravandi, Adoshi, maldoshi, Kusapur & Khirkindi (Koyana Wildlife Sanctuary) in Thane district of Maharashtra. The above mentioned proposal was considered by the Forest Advisory Committee in its meeting held on 09.01.2009 and the Committee observed as under:- “The State Government may be requested to explore the possibility of cash grant of Rs. 10 lakh to each family to be relocated in view of the MoEFs recent decision to apply this alternative package to all relocations from protected areas to reduce diversion of forest land to the extent possible”. The State Government of Maharashtra vide letter No. 17.NOCELL- II/ID11328/1097/12-13 dated 13.08.2012 informed that as directed by the Mo EF, the policy of giving cash grant of Rs. 10 lakh to each family is yet to be formally adopted by this government. However, as per the primary discussion with the villagers, it has been learnt that many of them have opted for the relocation instead of accepting the cash grant. The proposal along with the additional information/documents received from the State Government was placed before the Forest Advisory Committee in its meeting held on 18th September, 2012. The FAC after detailed examination of the proposal recommended that the State government of Maharashtra may be requested to submit following information/documents to the MoEF. The FAC further recommended that the MoEF separately request the NTCA to furnish comments on the need and efficacy of the proposed relocation of the villages from the Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary. In response to letter dated 01.10.2012, the State Government has furnished their reply on the points raised by the FAC are as under:-

S. No. Point raised by MoEF vide letter Compliance of the State Government of dated 01.10.2012 Maharashtra

(i) Survey of India Toposheet, in Survey of India toposheet in 1:50,000 scale original, in 1:50,000 scale indicating location and boundary of forest indicating location and boundary land proposed for diversion and revenue of the forest land proposed for land proposed to be vacated is enclosed diversion; herewith.

(ii) A survey of India toposheet in But not found enclosed with the letter. original indicating location and boundary of the revenue land proposed to be vacated in the Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary; (iii) A map indicating detailed land-use A map indicating detailed land use plan for plan for the forest land proposed the forest land proposed to be diverted is to be diverted. enclosed herewith. But not found enclosed with the letter.

(iv) Detailed justification for not using There is no non-forest land available in the non-forest land for relocation Satara District for relocation of villagers of villages from the Koyna from Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary and Wildlife Sanctuary; certificate regarding non-availability of non- forest land in Satara District for rehabilitation is already attached in the proposal. Earlier under Koyana Hydro Electric Project, some villagers of Ravandi, Adoshi, Madoshi, Kusapur & Khirkhindi village had been relocated near Eksal and Sagaon villages of Thane District, so remaining people are willing to resettle in Thane District.

(v) Details, including number of Under Section 24(2)(b) of Wildlife families in each of the villages (Protection) Act, 1972, Enquiry Officer of presently located within the Koyna Koyna wildlife Sanctuary ordered to Wildlife Sanctuary; rehabilitate 12 villages from Protected area. As per enquiry officers order, two villages (vi) Number of families proposed to be are relocated and 10 villages area yet to be rehabilitated from each of the relocated. (Details as per Annexure-A villages presently located within enclosed). the Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary;

(vii) Status of application, if any, filed No application has been filed before before the Hon’ble Supreme Court Hob’ble Supreme court for de-reservation to obtain their approval for of the forest land proposed for diversion. dereservation of the forest land Hob’ble Supreme Court in I. A. No. 566 has proposed to be diverted; fully exempted net Present Value for relocation of villages from the National Park/Sanctuary to alternate forest land.

(viii) Detailed reasons for not adopting State government had already offered Rs. the policy of cash grant in lieu of 10.00 lakh package to PAP to reduce land to the families proposed to be diversion of forest land but PAP area not relocated; and ready for the package. They want land for farming and for their livelihood. PAP is of the view that Rs. 10.00 lakh package is too less according to todays market rate of land.

(ix) Number of families, if any, who None of the PAP are willing to opt for cash are willing to opt cash grant in lieu grant in lieu of the land. of the land. In response to letter dated 01.10.2012, the State Government has furnished the note of PCCF (Wildlife) as under:- “Koyana Sanctuary admeasuring 423.55 sq. km. area was notified under Section 18 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The sanctuary has 50 villages, 25 from Jawli Tehsil and 25 from Patan Tehsil in District Satara was appointed as Enquiry Officer for Patan Tehsil. In District Satara. For enquiring the rights and their settlement in these villages, S.D.O., Satara was appointed as Enquiry Officer for Patan Tehsil. The Enquiry Officers have completed their enquiry and have submitted their reports to the district Collector, Satara. The Enquiry Officer has recommended rehabilitation of village Vele in Koyna Sanctuary in District Satara. In accordance with these recommendations, the proposal for diversion of Reserved Forest and Protected Forest over an area of 225.0342 ha in villages of Taluka Panvel and Khalapur, Distt. Raigad has been submitted to the Government of India. Raigad is a district adjoining to Satara district and the forest area where the said rehabilitation has been proposed are in Non-Protected Areas. Rehabilitation of villages inside the Koyna WL Santuary in accordance with the recommendations of the Enquiry Officer is necessary for management, conservation and protection of the said Wildlife Sanctuary and it will help in making the vacated area inviolate and its inclusion in the sanctuary’s critical wildlife habitat when the same would be so notified in future. It is also seen that the forest areas proposed for rehabilitation in district Raigad area areas with very little tree growth with the density below 0.1 except in one case in which it is below 0.3. In view of these facts, it is recommended that government of India may be requested to accord its approval for diversion of 225.0342 ha of forest land in villages of Raigad District for the purpose of rehabilitation of Vele village in Koyna WL Sanctuary in Satara District”. The fact related to the proposal as contained in the state Government’s letter dated 18.03.2008 are given below in the form of factsheet: FACT SHEET 1. Name of the Proposal Diversion of 242.390 ha of forest land for rehabilitation of villages Ravandi, Adoshi, maldoshi, Kusapur & Khirkindi (Koyana Wildlife Sanctuary) in Thane district of Maharashtra 2. Location i) State Maharashtra ii) District Thane 3. Particulars of Forests a) Name of Forest Division Thane Forest Division b) Forest area involved 242.390 ha c) Legal Status/Sy. No Reserved Forest- 196.708 ha Protected Forest- 45.682 ha Total - 242.390 ha d) Map Enclosed at pg 63-67/c 4. Topography of the area - 5. (i) Vegetation Teak (Tectona grandis), Air (Terminalia tomentosa), Khair (Acacia catechu), Sawar (Bombax malabarica), Palas (Butea frondosa), Bible (Pterocarus marsupum), Dhawda (Anogeissus latifolia), Shemat (Odina wodier), Apta (Bauhinia racemosa).

The number of trees involved is about 5,821.

(ii) No. of trees which will be <0.4 affected

(iii) Density 6. Brief note on vulnerability of the The forest area is not vulnerable to erosion. forest area to erosion 7. Approximate distance of The area selected for rehabilitation of people proposed site for diversion from affected due to Koyana Wildlife Sanctuary is boundary of forest on the village boundary.

8. Whether forms of part of national The area does not form a part of National Park/ park, wildlife sanctuary, Wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve, tiger biosphere reserve, tiger reserve, reserve, elephant corridor, etc. elephant corridor, etc. (If so, the details of the area and comments of the Chief Wildlife Warden to annexed).

9. Whether any Nil rare/endangered/unique species of flora and fauna found in the area- if so details thereof. 10. Whether any protected Nil archeological/heritage site/defence establishment or any other important monument is located in the area. if so, the details thereof with NOC from competent authority, if required. 11. Whether the requirement of forest The proposed area for rehabilitation of Koyana land as proposed by the User Wildlife Sanctuary affected persons from Agency is unavoidable and barest Satara district which is selected by the affected minimum for the project. If no, persons as the Koyana Dam evacuates were recommended area item-wise resettled previously also in the nearby areas of with details of alternatives this proposed area. examined. 12. Whether any work of violation of No violation the Act has been carried out (Yes/No). If yes, details of the same including period of work done, action taken on erring officials. Whether work in violation is still in progress.

13. Compensatory Afforestation The area to be acquired for the purpose of Koyana Wildlife Sanctuary is non-forest area and hence the Compensatory afforestation is not required/insisted upon.

14. Recommendation i. DFO Recommended (p-13/c) ii. PCCF Recommended (p-18/c) iii. State Government Recommended (p-18/c) 15. District Profile (i) Total Geographical 9553 Sq. Kms area (ii) Total forest area 4086 Sq. Kms

(iii) Total area diverted 554.684 ha (56 cases) since 1980 (iv) Total area proposed 1403.15 ha for afforested since 1980 (a) Forest land including 133.959 ha penal Compensatory Afforestation (b) Non-forest land 1423.149 ha (v) Total area afforested (20.034 ha C.A. from other Division Projects) since 1980 118.382 ha (a) Forest land

(b) Non-forest land

Site Inspection Report of Regional Office, Bhopal

1. Legal status : Reserve forest - 196.708 ha Protected forest - 45.682 ha Total - 242.390 ha

2. Item-wise break-up: Homestead - 20.00 ha Cultivation - 162.00 ha Grazing etc. - 60.39 ha

3. 20.00 ha of forest land will be utilized for homestead purposes. 4. Total cost of the project – The total cost of project is about Rs 7.00 crores. 5. Wildlife – The area proposed for diversion is not a part of any National Park or Wildlife Sanctuary. Hence, some wild animals like Wild boar, Hyena, Panther are occasionally spotted in this forest area. The local avi fauna found are Bulbuls, Patridges, Drongo, Sunbirds, etc. 6. Vegetation: The foret tyope of the area proposed to be diverted is III B/C 1 Moist Teak bearing forest with speices like Tectona grandis, Terminalia tomentosa, Acacia catechu, Bombax malabarica, Butea frondosa, Pterocarpus marsupium etc. In most of the palces the forest is degraded due to local biotic pressure with stunted growth and shrubby bushes. Only in few patches good vegetation cover is found with density going upto 0.4. The number of trrees involved is about 5,821. 7. Background note on the proposal: The diversion of the above fores land is required for rehabilitation of 5 villages namely Ravandi, Adoshi, Maldosha, Kusapur, Khirkindi of Koyana Wildlife Sanctuary. This Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the imporatnt Protected areas of the Western Ghats and is considered a biodiversity hotspot. The sanctuary is spread over 423.55 Sq. Km. and included areas of 50 villages. Of these villages; 17 have already been submerged in Koyana dam, 21 villages have been excluded by the settlement officer for this sanctuary and 12 villages need relocation and rehabilitation. Out of the 12 villages needing relocation, the rehabilitation package for 4 villages has already been finalized with diversion of forest land approved vide Ministry of Enviroment and Forests letter No 8-46/2001-FC dated 24.02.2002 and the rehabilitation work is in progress. The rehabilitation proposal for 3 villages is under prepartion by the State Government. For the remaining 5 villages, the rehabilitation is being finalized and this diversion proposal is a part of the package for provideg land to the displaced villages. 8. Compensatory Afforestation – Since this is a proposal for rehabilitation of villages from Wildlife Sanctuary areas, no Compensatory Afforestation scheme is prepared. 9. Compensatory Afforestation – Since this a proposal for rehabilitation of villages from Wildlife Sanctuary areas, no Compensatory Afforestation scheme is prepared. 10. This proposal is for rehabilitation of 5 villages which will be relocated from Koyana Wildlife Sanctuary in Satara district of Maharashtra to the 242.390 ha of forest land proposed for diversion in Thane district. 11. Reclamation plan –Not applicable. 12. Catchment and command area under the project – Not applicable. 13. Cost benefit ratio – Not applicable. 14. Recommendation of the PCCF/State Government:

The PCCF, Government of Maharashtra has recommended the proposal subject to following conditions:- i. The area sought for rehabilitation will be de-reserved under section-27 of the India (Forest) Act, 1927. ii. The area evacuated by the fvillagers after resettlement will be handed over to Forest Department and shall be notified under section-4 of the India (Forests)Act 1927, to be subsequently declared as Reserved Forest under Section-20. No land in these villages will be retained by the Revenue Deparment and the village will cease to exist. iii. The State Government will defray the cost of the removal of trees existing in the area, and all the trees falling in agricultural alnd will be felled and removed by the Forest Department to be sold off departmentally. The trees retained for some silvcultural reasons, will continue to belong to Forest Dearment, till compensated off by the agriculturist. iv. The state Government wil pay for the survey, demarcation and fixing of pillars in this newly acquired boundaries o fthe new village site vis-à-vis the forest land. v. The diversion of forest land will confine to an area of 242.390 ha only. vi. The area falls within 10 km of the boundaries of Protected Area and Chief Conservator of Forests (T), Thane/Deputy Conservator of Forests, Thane will ensure that all legal formalities relating to Hon’ble High Court Judgement in Writ Petion No. 1277/2000 are duly complied.

15. Recommendation of Regional Chief Conservator of Forests alongwith Thane Division is for rehabilitation of 120 families of 5 villages from Koyana WildlifeSanctuary in Satara district. In pursuance of Government policy of Mharashtra State, 20 ha of land is proposed for homestead purposes, 162 ha for agriculture and 60.39 ha is for grazing etc. The forest land proposed for diversion is having good vegetation cover in few patches and 5821 number of trees have been enumerated. It is prposed by Dchief Conservator of Forests, Thane not to fell the trees. Hence, rather than approving the diversion of entire portion of the 60.39 ha forest land proposed as grazing ground it should be limited to the minimum requred and may include the area with good vegetation cover. Ths land should be propolsed as a village common forest land to be managed by Joint Forest Management principles. Subject to the above conditon this diversion proposal is recommended for approval in the interest of wildlife management of Koyana Wildlife Sanctuary.

16. Comments of the Regional Chief Conservator of Forests - Already a few villages displaced due to constructin of Koyana dam are rehabilitated in nearby Modosha village. The villagers of the present 5 villages prposed to be rehabilated are having relatives in the already rehabilitated Modosha village. For that reason the villagers are agreeable the shift to this forest land beside river Tansa. Hence, there does not seem to be any other better alternative site for locating this rehabilitation scheme.

17. Utility of the project – Rehabilitation of these villages will have very good effect on the wildlife management of Koyana Wildlife Sanctuary. The abandoned agricultural land and homestead site will prvides natural meadow to the herbivorous. A spate in herbivorous population will in turn provide a niche to carnivorous. The villagers after relocation will be safe from the repeated damages to their crops by the Wildlife. Moreover, after relocation, the inhabitants of the villages will get basic amenties like schooling, hospital, etc.

18. (a) Whether land being diverted has any socio-cultural/religious value – No.

(b) Whether any sacred grove or very old growth trees/forests exist in the area proposed for diversion –No

19. Situation in respect of any Protected Area- The forest area is not a part of any wildlife sanctuary or national park. However, it is close to Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary which is at a distance of about 5 mkm. 20. Any other information relating to the project – This diversion proposal is in the interest of better wildlife management of Koyana Wildlife Sanctuary in Satara district which is considered as a biodiversity hotspot. The forest area proposed for relocation of five villages in Thane district is besides. Tansa river and is subject to massive biotic pressure by the surrounding villagers of Eksali, Sagon etc. The plantation activites taken by the State Forest Department Corporation are not successful due to the biotic pressures exerted by the villagers. Hence, in overall interest, this area may be diverted with provision for JFM in order to manage dense vegetation patches.

In view of the above facts, if approved, the proposal may be submitted to the FAC for its consideration in its forthcoming meeting.

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