Forest body plan to ‘gift’ corridors?
The apex Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the environment ministry has gifted away 5,000 hectares of pristine forest, much of which provides crucial corridors for animals to move from one habitat to another. The FAC has recommended the diversion of 60 hectares of forest located within the Gola corridor in Uttarakhand. Green lawyer Ritwick Datta points out, “This corridor is the only feasible path for the movement of elephants across the Gola river but it is being diverted for the construction of the NH-87 connecting Rampur to Kathgodam.”