Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 09:20am on 12 Jul 2025,Saturday India
Between February and June 16, 2025, India's central government approved the diversion of 8,518.23 hectares of forest into non‑forest use—surpassing four times the size of Delhi's airport—despite a February Supreme Court directive prohibiting reduction of forest land without prior safeguards . Clearances spanned tiger reserves, protected areas, revenue, degraded, and unclassed forests, sanctioned via RECs, the FAC, and NBWL . Petitioners argue compensatory afforestation is misused by allowing it within legally protected forests, in direct contradiction to the 1996 Godavarman judgment and the Court’s own Feb 3, 2025 order. (PC: iStock)
