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OIH
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1487
TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.02.2026
Environmental and forest clearances to projects
1487. SHRI MADAN RATHORE:
DR. PARMAR JASHVANTSINH SALAMSINH:
SHRI SHAMBHU SHARAN PATEL:
DR. ANIL SUKHDEORAO BONDE:
SHRI NARHARI AMIN:
SHRI ASHOKRAO SHANKARRAO CHAVAN:
SHRI LAHAR SINGH SIROYA:
Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to
state:
(a) the number and category of projects granted environmental and forest clearances during
the last year, State-wise including Rajasthan;
(b) the number of projects approved with conditional or stage-wise clearances, State-wise
including Rajasthan;
(c) whether post-clearance compliance monitoring flagged any violations;
(d) if so, the details thereof, State-wise including Rajasthan;
(e) the action taken against non-compliant project proponents; and
(f) whether any steps have been adopted to balance expedited approvals with
environmental safeguards; and
(g) if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND
CLIMATE CHANGE
(SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)
(a) to (b) The Government of India has issued the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA)
Notification, 2006 under the powers conferred by sub-section (1) and clause (v) of sub-section
(2) of section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. As per the provisions laid down in
the EIA Notification, 2006, as amended, proposals seeking Environmental Clearance (EC) are
appraised by the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) or State Level Expert Appraisal
Committee (SEAC), considering all the environmental aspects of the project, including issues
raised during the Public Consultation process. Based on the recommendations of the
EAC/SEAC, the projects are further considered by the Ministry or State Environmental Impact
Assessment Authority (SEIAA) for approval or rejection of Environmental Clearance (EC). It
is only after such detailed study and analysis that environmental clearances are issued subject
to certain specific and standard conditions.Proposals pertaining to Forest Clearance (FC) and diversion of forest land are submitted by the
States/UTs for prior approval of Central government under Van (Sanrakshan Evam
Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980. Whenever a proposal for diversion of forest land is received,
it is examined thoroughly, and due diligence is exercised to ensure that diversion is kept to the
bare minimum. In cases where it is unavoidable, the forest area is allowed to be diverted subject
to certain conditions, including Compensatory Afforestation (CA) and payment of Net Present
Value (NPV), wherever necessary, the additional mitigation measures in the form of Soil and
Moisture Conservation works, Wildlife Management plan etc. are also stipulated on case-to-
case basis.
As per information available on the PARIVESH portal, during the last year (from 01.01.2025
to 31.12.2025), the Ministry granted Environmental Clearance (EC), together with prescribed
general and specific conditions, to 516 proposals. The category wise and State-wise details of
EC granted during the said period are provided in Annexure – I.
Further, during the last year (from 01.01.2025 to 31.12.2025), category-wise and State-wise
number of proposals granted approval under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan)
Adhiniyam, 1980 for diversion of forest land is provided at Annexure-II.
(c) to (g) As per the EIA Notification, 2006, as amended, it is mandatory for project
proponents to submit half-yearly compliance reports in respect of the stipulated prior
Environmental Clearance terms and conditions to the regulatory authority concerned on 1st
June & 1st December of each calendar year. The Regional Offices review the six-monthly
compliance reports and carry out random inspections to validate self-reported compliance.
Based on inspection reports received from the ROs, instances of environmental non-
compliance are addressed in accordance with the provisions of Section 5, 15 and 19 of the
Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and Rule 4 of Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986.
The implementation of these provisions is guided by Standard Operating Procedure (SoP)
established vide Office Memorandum dated 25.11.2022 for post-environmental clearance
monitoring and compliance of projects, which prescribes the mechanism for taking action with
respect to the observed non-compliance, including procedure of seeking clarification, issuing
Show Cause Notice and concluding action. In addition, the State Pollution Control Boards are
also empowered to take remedial actions in cases of violation of Consent to Operate and
Consent to Establish conditions in accordance with Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution)
Act, 1981 and Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
Further, the monitoring of clearances granted by the Ministry for all development projects in
forest areas, is well defined and undertaken by State/UT agencies and departments and is also
assigned to Regional Offices of the Ministry. The State Government implements the provisions
of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 in accordance with the statutory
provisions provided in the Adhiniyam and Rules and Guidelines issued under the Adhiniyam.
In case any violation over forest area is reported, the matter is dealt with as per the provisions
in the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 and Rules made thereunder.
*********Annexure-I
Category wise and State-wise details of Environmental Clearance Granted during the last
year (from 01.01.2025 to 31.12.2025)
Project Category
as per EIA Notification, 2006 as amended
States A B
Andhra Pradesh 22 0
Arunachal Pradesh 2 0
Assam 2 0
Bihar 5 3
Chandigarh 1 0
Chhattisgarh 36 1
Delhi 2 25
Goa 0 2
Gujarat 73 2
Haryana 7 66
Himachal Pradesh 2 1
Jammu And Kashmir 2 1
Jharkhand 8 1
Karnataka 20 8
Kerala 2 23
Madhya Pradesh 16 7
Maharashtra 50 4
Meghalaya 1 1
Odisha 19 0
Puducherry 2 0
Punjab 11 3
Rajasthan 21 5
Tamil Nadu 9 2
Telangana 7 1
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu 0 1
Tripura 0 1
Uttar Pradesh 14 0
Uttarakhand 6 1
West Bengal 14 3
Total 354 162Annexure-II
Statement showing Category-wise number of proposals approved for use of land for
non-forestry purpose under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam,
1980 during the last year (from 01.01.2025 to 31.12.2025)
S. No. of Proposals
Project Category
No. approved
1 Airport 1
2 Canal 10
3 Communication Post 157
Construction / Widening of Road including approach
4 616
road to roadside establishments including bridges
5 Defence 48
6 Dispensary/Hospital 13
7 Drinking Water 445
8 Exploration & Survey 106
9 Forest Village Conversion 1
10 Hydel / Irrigation 55
11 Industry 45
12 Mining / Quarrying 50
13 Mining of Mineral Oil 1
14 Non-Conventional Source of Energy 5
15 Optical Fibre Cable 147
16 Others 442
17 Petrol Pump 731
18 Pipeline 198
Police Establishment like police stations / outposts /
19 border outposts / towers in sensitive areas (identified 3
by MHA)
20 Power Sub Station 7
21 Power Transmission Line 214
22 Railway 37
23 Re-Diversion/Land Use Change 111
24 Rehabilitation from Protected Area 1
25 School / Educational Institution 29
26 Telecommunication Line 2
27 Thermal Power 3
28 Village Electricity 2
29 Water / Rainwater Harvesting Structure 2
Grand Total 3482Statement showing State-wise number of proposals approved for use of land for non-
forestry purpose under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980
during the last year (from 01.01.2025 to 31.12.2025)
S.
State/ UTs No. of Proposals approved
No.
1 Andaman and Nicobar Islands 9
2 Andhra Pradesh 47
3 Arunachal Pradesh 41
4 Assam 16
5 Bihar 93
6 Chandigarh 2
7 Chhattisgarh 61
8 Delhi 6
9 Goa 13
10 Gujarat 253
11 Haryana 426
12 Himachal Pradesh 64
13 Jammu And Kashmir 415
14 Jharkhand 30
15 Karnataka 154
16 Kerala 19
17 Madhya Pradesh 303
18 Maharashtra 131
19 Manipur 24
20 Meghalaya 7
21 Mizoram 12
22 Nagaland 1
23 Odisha 63
24 Punjab 451
25 Rajasthan 97
26 Sikkim 47
27 Tamil Nadu 34
28 Telangana 67
The Dadra and Nagar Haveli and
29 5
Daman and Diu
30 Tripura 15
31 Uttar Pradesh 425
32 Uttarakhand 105
33 West Bengal 46
Grand Total 3482