SHIMLA: Chief Minister, Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today sought the early forest clearances for various ongoing development projects in Himachal Pradesh, which are hanging fire for a long time.
In a meeting with Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav in New Delhi today, Sukhu urged the Union Minister to ensure early forest approvals in a time bound manner.
These projects are related to construction of heliports, green corridors as mandated by the State Government for making Himachal as 'Green Energy State' by the year 2025 and other major ongoing projects.
The tough geological conditions of Himachal Pradesh, necessitate to construct heliports, not only to facilitate the tourists visiting the State, but also cater to the emergency needs during natural calamities or otherwise.
A decision should be taken without delay regarding the necessary forest clearances pending for the construction of the heliports, he urged the Union Minister.
The state government is promoting e-vehicles in Himachal Pradesh and developing necessary infrastructure for the same by constructing adequate number of e-charging stations for electrical vehicles.
Besides, green corridors would also be constructed on both sides of all National and state highways in the state. In order to speed up the process, various approvals regarding forest land should be accorded in time to achieve the target, said the Chief Minister.
Delay in forest clearances creates unnecessary delay in the construction of development projects, especially educational institutions, roads and bridges and ropeways etc. He urged that these approvals should be given as soon as possible.
The Chief Minister advocated that the State forest officers of the state should work in unison with the central level forest officers and should take up the cases pending with the Ministry so that approvals can be received in time.
Detailed discussions were also held regarding the state's water reservoirs, wild life sanctuaries and eco-tourism guidelines and other important topics including Parivesh Portal, National Transit Pass System, School Nursery Scheme, City Forest Scheme, Davanal (Forest fires) during the summer season in the state.
The Chief Minister invited Union Forest, Environment and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav to visit Himachal.
The Union Minister assured all possible help to the state.
Central Forest Secretary, Leena Nandan, other senior officers of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Political Advisor to Chief Minister Sunil Sharma, Principal Resident Commissioner, Sushil Kumar Singla, Resident Commissioner, Meera Mohanty, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests V.K. Tiwari, Chief Conservator Wildlife, Rajeev Kumar, Nodal Officer for Forest Conservation Act, Harshvardhan Kathuria and other senior officers were present in the meeting.
