VISAKHAPATNAM: The State government has permitted the use of 1,618.265 acres of sea-accreted government land in Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema district for compensatory afforestation linked to the proposed major beach sand mineral (BSM) mining project between Srikakulam and Bheemunipatnam in Visakhapatnam.
The Revenue Department, through a GO. has treated the proposal as a special case and allowed the land at Brahmasamedhyam village in Katrenikona mandal to be included in the compensatory afforestation land bank.
The decision is noteworthy as the State’s existing guidelines do not permit sea-accreted land to be identified for compensatory afforestation. The guidelines issued in August 2023 cited the potential use of such land for activities including ports and tourism.
The latest order provides a specific relaxation for 1,618.265 acres (654.899 hectares), divided into two portions including 986.160 acres in Portion-1A and 632.105 acres in Portion-1B. The identified land lies outside the notified mangrove forest area.
The proposal originated with Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema district administration, which identified the un-surveyed government land as part of the exercise to provide equivalent land for compensatory afforestation for the proposed BSM mining project covering the Srikakulam-Bheemunipatnam block.
The government has opted for a case-specific relaxation rather than a general amendment to the policy. The order explicitly states that the permission will not be treated as a general relaxation or modification of the rules.
The Chief Commissioner of Land Administration has been directed to make a limited modification to the 2023 instructions to permit the identified land to be used for the specified purpose.