1.19 hectares of protected forest land in Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivali in the western suburbs and Tungareshwar Sanctuary in Vasai in Palghar district will be transferred to the Adani Group.
The National Wildlife Federation has already approved the allocation of this land to Adani Electricity Mumbai Infra Limited to enable power distribution networks in Palghar, Thane and suburban Mumbai, and now final approval has been given to work on this forest land. The company has announced this information through a public notice. Questions have started to arise as to why Adani company and not forest land is being used to build the electricity distribution network.
While a controversy is already raging over the large amount of land given to Adani Company by various authorities in Mumbai for the Dharavi project, now land in a protected forest area will be given to the same company for electricity distribution. The central government has granted permission to Adani Electricity Mumbai Infra Limited (AEMIL) to install a 1000 MW high-voltage power transmission line through environmentally sensitive areas like Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary.
The Union Government's Department of Forests, Environment, Climate Change and Wildlife gave permission for this in February this year. Later, the High Court also gave permission on February 12. The National Wildlife Board has approved the transfer of 1.1904 hectares of protected land to the company out of a total forest area of 22.3118 hectares in Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Tungareshwar Sanctuary.
The Additional Chief Conservator of Forests, Wildlife (West) has also approved the company to work on this forest land from September 1. After the company announced this information through a public notice, many questions have now arisen regarding this matter.
Why give private land for forest land?
Environmentalists have opposed this decision. Environmentalist Dayanand Stalin has raised the question of why there is a need to give forest land even if only one hectare of land has been given.
The government should sell any other land to the Adani company at market price. Stalin has alleged that this ghat is being built because forest land is being given for free. The government should either announce that land is not available anywhere else or give us time to find alternatives.
If these works are being done for the people, why don't they tell the people in confidence first? If private land is given to a company, the owner will have to pay compensation. Considering the price of land in Mumbai, what is the compensation for the 1.19 hectares of land given to the Adani company? Stalin has alleged that the government has done as much work to save the Adani company as it could have built and earned money from it. He has also made scathing criticism that the Sanjay Gandhi National Park should be destroyed and all the animals sent to the wild.
Not a single tree will be cut, even the channels will be underground
When contacted, the forest officials of Sanjay Gandhi National Park said that the company's proposal has been approved by the central government departments.
Also, the land that has been given is not in the park itself, but is a reserved area (right of way) along the national highway. Therefore, not a single tree will have to be cut for it, the forest officials have also claimed. Only one to one and a half meters wide of this area will be used. Even in this, it has been stipulated that underground channels will be laid to avoid endangering wildlife. He also said that this land has not been transferred permanently. The land has been given only for laying channels. The compensation for this land has also been taken as per the decision of the Central Government.
What is the land for?
The company had requested this land to install a 1000 MW power line between the power substation at Kudus in Palghar district and the power substation at Aarey.
The company says that after the construction of this project, electricity distribution will be enabled in the Palghar, Thane and Mumbai suburban districts of the state. Therefore, from September 1, actual work will begin in the villages of Mandovi, Shirsad, Pelhar, Chinchoti in Vasai, as well as Kolhi Chandrapada in Naigaon, and Sasunavghar, Kasbe Ghodbunder in the Thane area.
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1.19 hectares of protected forest land in Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivali in the western suburbs and Tungareshwar Sanctuary in Vasai in Palghar district will be transferred to the Adani Group.
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