Detailed procedure for submission and processing of proposals
Under the Forest (Conservation) Rules of 2003, the procedure for submission of
proposals seeking clearance under the Act is prescribed. The form appended to the rules
specifies the particulars that must be furnished along with the proposal.
The following section provides the detailed procedure on how proposals are submitted
and how they are processed at the level of the state government, Regional Offices of the
MoEF and the central government (in the MoEF)
1) Every user agency who seeks clearance for the diversion of forest land shall submit a
proposal in the relevant form.
2) The proposal is sent in the prescribed format; Form A and B are appended to the
Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003, issued under the Act.
Form A: for proposals seeking first time approval under the Act, or
Form B: for proposals seeking renewal of leases, where the approval of the central
government under the Act had already been obtained.
Rule 6.1 of the Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003
Along with the completed form, depending on the type of activity proposed to be carried
out, additional information/documents may be asked of the user agency. (For details of
the type of proposal to be sent for a specific project, go to the section on activities
requiring clearance under the Act. Each activity lists out the specifics of the additional
information that must accompany the form mentioned above in the proposal)
The form is sent along with requisite information and documents, to the Nodal Officer of
the state government or the Union Territory Administration.
(Proposals involving clearing of naturally grown trees on the forest land (or portion of
such land) for the purpose of using it for reafforestation shall be sent in the form of a
Working Plan or Management Plan).
Rule 6.2 of the Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003
2a) The Nodal Officer, on receipt of the proposal shall issue a receipt to the user agency
indicating therein the name of the proposal, user agency, area in hectare, serial number
and date of receipt.
2b) The user agency shall endorse a copy of the (completed) proposal, along with the
receipt obtained from the office of the Nodal Officer, to
1. The concerned Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) or the Conservator of Forests
(CF) of the Regional Office of the MoEF, and
2. Monitoring Cell of the Forest Conservation Division of the MoEF (Paryavaran
Bhavan, CGO Complex, New Delhi – 110003).
Rule 6.2 of the Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003
3a) If the Nodal Officer finds that the proposal received is incomplete, he shall return it
within a period of ten days of the receipt of the proposal to the user agency, and this time
period shall not be counted for any future reference.
Rule 6.3.c of the Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003
3b) The Nodal Officer, after having received the proposal and on being satisfied that the
proposal is complete in all respects, shall send the proposal to the concerned Divisional
Forest Officer within a period of ten days of the receipt of the proposal. (Provided that on
the determination regarding completeness of the proposal or the expiry of ten days,
whichever is earlier, the question of completeness of the proposal shall not be raised).
Rule 6.3.b of the Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003
4) The Divisional Forest Officer or the Conservator of Forests shall examine the factual
details and feasibility of the proposal, certify the maps, carry out site-inspection and
enumeration of the trees. He shall then forward his findings in the format specified in this
regard, to the Nodal Officer within a period of ninety days of the receipt of such proposal
from him.
Rule 6.3.d of the Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003
5) The Nodal Officer shall forward the proposal, along with his recommendations,
through the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, to the state government or the Union
Territory Administration within a period of thirty days of the receipt of such proposal
from the Divisional Forest Officer or the Conservator of Forests.
Rule 6.3.e.i of the Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003
5a) For small development and public utility projects involving diversion of forest land
up to 5 Ha, the state government may authorize the Nodal Officer or any other officer to
submit the proposals directly to the Regional Office of the MoEF.
Handbook of Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003,
Guidelines & Clarifications. Issued by the Government of India, Ministry of Environment
& Forests, New Delhi, 2004– Part C, Chapter 2, Para 2.1.ii
6) The state government or the Union Territory Administration shall forward the
complete proposal, along with its recommendations, to the Regional Office (of the
MoEF), or the MoEF in the specified forms, within a period of sixty days from the receipt
of the proposal from the Nodal Officer. The state government or Union Territory
Administration shall simultaneously send the intimation to the user agency about
forwarding of the proposal (along with its recommendations) to the Regional Office or
the MoEF, as the case may be.
Rule 6.3.e.ii of the Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003
The state/UT governments are advised not to consider or process cases which are pending
in various Courts, or are sub-judice, to avoid administrative and legal complications.
Handbook of Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003,
Guidelines & Clarifications. Issued by the Government of India, Ministry of Environment
& Forests, New Delhi, 2004– Part C, Chapter 2, Para 2.1.vi
If the proposal (along with the recommendations) is not received from the concerned
state government or Union Territory Administration until fifteen days after the expiry of
the time limit (i.e. 60 days), it shall be construed that the concerned state government or
UT Administration has rejected the proposal and the government/Administration shall
inform the user agency accordingly.
If there is a delay in the state government forwarding the proposal, the central
government shall not consider the proposal unless an explanation for the delay to the
satisfaction of the central government is furnished, together with action taken against any
individual held responsible for the delay.
Rule 6.3.f of the Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003
7 and 8) A proposal involving forest land up to forty hectares shall be forwarded by the
concerned state government or the Union Territory Administration (along with its
recommendations) to the Chief Conservator of Forests or the Conservator of Forests of
the concerned Regional Office of the MoEF.
Rule 6.4 of the Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003
7a) For proposals up to 5Ha, other than the proposal related to mining and
encroachments, the Chief Conservator of Forests (or Conservator of Forests) of the
Regional Office of the MoEF shall decide the diversion within a period of forty-five days
of the receipt of the proposal from the state government or Union Territory
Administration. The Chief Conservator of Forests is competent to finally dispose of all
such proposals, and the Conservator of Forests assumes this power in the absence of the
Chief Conservator of Forests (due to transfer, long leave, etc.)
Rule 6.5 of the Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003
A list of cases finally disposed of and a list of cases rejected (along with the reasons for
rejection) is sent every month to the MoEF by the Regional Office
Handbook of Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003,
Guidelines & Clarifications. Issued by the Government of India, Ministry of Environment
& Forests, New Delhi, 2004– Part C, Chapter 4, Para 4.1.iv
For small development and public utility projects involving diversion of forest land up to
5Ha, the state government may authorize the Nodal Officer or any other officer to submit
the proposal directly to the Regional Office of the MoEF.
Handbook of Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003,
Guidelines & Clarifications. Issued by the Government of India, Ministry of Environment
& Forests, New Delhi, 2004 Part C, Chapter 2, Para 2.1.ii
8b) For proposals of more than five hectares and up to forty hectares, including proposals
related to mining and encroachments, the Chief Conservator of Forests (or Conservator of
Forests) of the Regional Office of the MoEF shall process, scrutinize and forward
diversion along with recommendations, to the MoEF for obtaining the decision of the
central government and inform the state government or Union Territory Administration
and the user agency concerned.
Rule 6.4 of the Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003
The proposals shall be examined by the Regional Chief Conservator of Forests (or the
Conservator of Forests) in consultation with the state Advisory Group consisting of
representatives of the state government from the Revenue Department, Forest
Department, etc. The views of the Advisory Group shall be recorded by the Regional
Chief Conservator of Forests and these recommendations is sent along with the proposal
to the Secretary of the MoEF. The views of the Advisory Group are not binding while
deciding the proposal.
8b) The Regional Empowered Committee shall decide the proposal involving diversion
of forest land up to forty hectares other than the proposal relating to mining and
encroachments, within forty-five days of the receipt of such proposal from the state
government or Union Territory Administration.
The central government may enhance or reduce the limit of the area of the forest land if it
considers it necessary to do so.
Rule 6.5 of the Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003
9) A proposal involving forest land of more than 40 Ha shall be forwarded by the
concerned state government or Union Territory Administration (along with its
recommendations) to the MoEF (Paryavaran Bhavan, CGO Complex, New Delhi –
110003). A copy of all these proposals, irrespective of area, should be sent to the
concerned Regional Office of the MoEF.
Rule 6.6 of the Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003
9a) The central government shall refer every proposal, complete in all respects, received
by it, including site inspection reports (wherever required) to the Advisory Committee for
its advice thereon. These proposals shall be processed and put up before the Committee.
Rule7.1 and 7.1-A of the Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003
Click here to read more about the Committee’s role in tendering advice regarding
proposals for diversion of forest land under the functions of the Advisory Committee
9b) The recommendations of the Committee shall be placed before the Ministry of
Environment and Forests within a period of ninety days of the receipt of such proposal
from the state government or Union Territory Administration, for its decision on
diversion of forest land for the proposed activity.
Rule 7 of the Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003
11) Acceptance or rejection of a proposal
Two stage clearance
Forestry clearances are given in two stages; in the first stage, the proposal shall be agreed
to in principle. In this stage, the conditions relating to transfer, mutation and declaration
as reserve forest/protected forest under the Indian Forest Act of 1927 of equivalent nonforest land for compensatory afforestation and funds for raising compensatory
afforestation are stipulated.
The non-forest land which is transferred and mutated in favour of the state Forest
Department should be declared as RF/PF under the Indian Forest Act of 1927. The land is
handed over to the user agency after it has been mutated in favour of the Forest
Department, after which Stage II clearance is awarded. The Nodal Officer must report
compliance within a period of 6 months and send a copy of the original notification
declaring the non-forest land under Section 4 or Section 29 of the Indian Forest Act to the
central government. After receipt of compliance report from the state government in
respect of the stipulated conditions, formal approval under this Act is issued.
However, in cases where compliance of conditions stipulated in the in-principle approval
is awaited for more than 5 years from the state governments, the in-principle approvals
will summarily be revoked. After the revocation of the in-principle approval, if the state
government or user agency is still interested in the project, they would be required to
submit a fresh proposal which shall be considered de-novo.
In the proposal which is submitted in the format specified in the rules to this Act, officers
responsible are required to examine the proposal, inspect the site and record their
observations/recommendations in the proposal. Adverse recommendations of subordinate
officers in the prescribed forms or in the documents attached with the form should be
commented upon by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) or the Chief
Conservator of Forests (CCF).
Similarly, adverse recommendations by the PCCF or CCF should be commented upon by
the state government to emphasize that a conscious decision has been taken in the matter.
Handbook of Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003,
Guidelines & Clarifications. Issued by the Government of India, Ministry of Environment
& Forests, New Delhi, 2004, Part C, Chapter 2, Para 2.1.iii
These recommendations will be taken into account together with the recommendations by
the (central or state) Advisory Committee, for the central government (MoEF) or the
Regional Office of the MoEF to decide on acceptance or rejection of a proposal.
If all conditions are satisfied, approval is granted to the user agency. Certain conditions
may be stipulated in view of recommendations provided by officers and advisory
committees.
Rejection of cases for want of information:
In cases where the state government is requested to furnish clarifications or additional
information relating to a proposal, all particulars should be made available to the central
government within 60 days. If such particulars are not received within a maximum of 90
days, the proposal may be rejected by the central government. Such cases could be
reopened, provided that the following conditions are fulfilled:
 All the required information has been made available
 Delay is providing information is satisfactorily explained
 There is no change in the proposal in terms of scope, purpose and other important
aspects.
In some cases the state government may request reconsideration of a proposal that has
been rejected by the central government. Such request should be made within three
months from the date of the rejection letter. The request should give a detailed
justification for reconsideration as well as comments on the grounds on which the
Ministry rejected the proposal.
Handbook of Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003,
Guidelines & Clarifications. Issued by the Government of India, Ministry of Environment
& Forests, New Delhi, 2004– Part C, Chapter 4, Para 4.14
Rejection of proposals by the state/UT government:
When a proposal is submitted by the user agency to the state government or UT
Administration to be forwarded to the central government in the Ministry of Environment
and Forests for approval, if the state/UT government rejects the proposal, it can intimate
the user agency directly of such decision and not allow the diversion/de-notification of
any forest land for the proposed activity. In such cases, the approval of the central
government is not required, unless the proposal involves the requirement of forest land
for projects of the central government. When the proposal is for a central government
project, the proposal is sent to the MoEF, irrespective of the state government’s intention
to reject such a proposal.
Click here to read MoEF’s Letter No. 8C/7/2002(FCW) dated 18.11.2002 regarding
rejection of proposals by the state government.
Appeal
In cases where the user agency approaches the Courts for redress (against conditions on
which the proposals are accorded in-principle approval in the first place), the in-principle
approval (and temporary working permission in the case of mining projects) shall stand
revoked/in abeyance unless the Court cases are withdrawn and the conditions complied
with, or until the cases are decided by the Courts.
Approved proposals are not normally reopened for review of the conditions that have
been stipulated earlier.
Handbook of Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003,
Guidelines & Clarifications. Issued by the Government of India, Ministry of Environment
& Forests, New Delhi, 2004– Part C, Chapter 4, Para 4.2
12) Conditions stipulated on grant of clearance
General, standard and specific conditions are stipulated on the grant of a clearance under
the Act.
Click here to go to the section on ‘Conditions stipulated on the grant of clearance’