JHARSUGUDA: The proposal of Vedanta to use forest land for its KudaloI (A) North coal mine project was approved at the meeting of the district-level forest rights committee held at the collector’s office here on Tuesday.
The project proposal had been placed before the committee for consideration as part of the statutory process under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006. However, a proposal submitted by the Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Limited (OPTCL) for construction of a transmission line was deferred due to the absence of required documents. The committee decided to take up the matter again in next meeting after submission of the necessary papers.
Held under the chairmanship of Jharsuguda collector Kunal Motiram Chavan, the meeting discussed several important issues related to the use of forest land for non-forest purposes and claims under individual forest rights. The committee reviewed 64 individual forest rights claims from Kirmira and Lakhanpur blocks.
Officials noted certain technical discrepancies in the claims earlier, which had created complications in the correction of land records (RoRs). The collector directed officials to thoroughly verify all claims and reject applicants who are not actually in possession of forest land, ensuring strict compliance with the provisions of the FRA.