Panaji: Govt has established a dedicated project management unit (PMU) at the forest department head office, Van Bhawan, Altinho, to streamline compensatory afforestation processes and assist agencies seeking forest land diversion for non-forestry projects. The decision follows a communication from the forest conservation division of the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980.The PMU will facilitate the creation of land banks by identifying degraded forest land that can be used for compensatory afforestation whenever forest land is diverted for infrastructure or other non-forestry purposes. It will also guide user agencies in preparing and submitting proposals under the VSESA Rules, 2023.The unit will function from the VSESA wing at Van Bhawan, Panaji, and will comprise senior forest department officials. The nodal officer (VSESA) will serve as chairman, while the conservator of forests (conservation), deputy conservators of forests from North, South, Kushavati, wildlife and eco-tourism (North and South), and monitoring and evaluation will be members. The deputy conservator of forests (monitoring and evaluation) will function as the member secretary and drawing and disbursing officer (DDO).According to a notification, the PMU’s primary role will be to identify suitable land parcels for the creation of land banks, help user agencies locate degraded forest land for compensatory afforestation, and provide technical guidance to ensure proposals comply with the provisions of the 2023 Rules.Officials said the dedicated unit is expected to improve coordination between the forest department and project proponents, speed up processing of proposals requiring forest clearances, and strengthen implementation of compensatory afforestation in the state.
