The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has tightened compliance norms related to Penal Compensatory Afforestation (PCA) for violations under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, also known as the Forest Conservation Act, making proof of compliance mandatory before final approval is granted for projects involving the illegal use of forest land.
The Ministry has issued an order directing State governments to furnish verified proof of compliance with Penal Compensatory Afforestation by violators before granting final approval for infrastructure projects that allegedly involved unauthorised use of forest land.
Under the revised requirement, violators must establish that penal afforestation has been completed before receiving final clearance.
At present, several State governments are failing to submit verified reports confirming that new afforestation areas have been created in accordance with the Forest Conservation Act to compensate for diverted forest land.
Instead, States have been submitting undertakings from companies or agencies, resulting in incomplete documentation and delays in project approvals.
In this regard, the government had issued guidelines on 21 January, 2026, mandating that entities responsible for unauthorised use of forest land must undertake afforestation on alternative land as a compensatory penalty.
According to official communication, several cases approved earlier under Stage I conditions had stipulated that PCA provisions would apply once formal guidelines were finalised.
However, while seeking Stage II approvals, State governments have reportedly been submitting only undertakings from user agencies instead of detailed compliance reports.
The Ministry observed that such incomplete submissions have resulted in repeated queries and delays in granting final approvals.
To address this, States and Union Territories have now been directed to ensure full compliance with PCA requirements at the Stage I compliance stage itself.
The directive applies to cases approved both before and after 21 January, 2026. Authorities have been asked to submit complete details of afforestation plans in line with the guidelines, along with verification reports from Regional Offices confirming the suitability of the identified land.
Officials believe that strict adherence to these requirements will streamline the approval process, reduce delays, and strengthen enforcement of forest conservation laws across the country.
