Mizoram govt calls for forest clearance to speed up devpt projects

Aizawl: Mizoram CM Lalduhoma on Thursday said the state govt aims to expedite the development process and urged officials of the environment, forests & climate change (EF&CC) ministry to help in obtaining forest clearance for the projects being proposed and undertaken by development departments.
Addressing a review meeting of the EF&CC in Aizawl, Lalduhoma appealed to the officials not to create problems in getting forest clearance for development projects, but rather try their best to push them through expeditiously.
The chief minister said all the projects should be routed through the state planning and programme implementation department to avoid overlaps and imbrications that can impede the development of the state.
According to the officials, forest clearances have been granted for 12 development projects since 2023, while five projects have been given approval in principle and three projects are already approved but penal Net Present Value (NPV) is yet to be paid. "Clearance from the ministry of EF&CC is awaited for two projects and three projects are still pending due to incomplete applications," the officials said.
There is a fund amounting to Rs 199 crore under the Mizoram Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), they added.
The review meeting was attended by EF&CC minister Lalthansanga, adviser to chief minister TBC Lalvenchhunga, EF&CC secretary H Lalengmawia and other senior officials.