Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: An extra 55.57 square kilometers of land need to be designated as private forest after the State government established a Review Committee under the Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) to examine private forest lands.
In accordance with a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order, the administration designated 45.5 and 46.1 square kilometers of the State as private forests in two different orders last year.
In order for the State government to identify private woods, the area must be adjacent to government forest holdings and, if it is isolated, must be at least 5 hectares in size.
The Thomas and Araujo Committees, which were established for North and South Goa, respectively, determined that 3349 survey numbers were private forests, according to the Review Committee’s report that was given to the government. 2442 survey numbers have been disposed of by the committee.
“The review committee examined the survey results following a thorough examination using Google Timeline Change, which was supported by court orders, tree-cutting, etc.,” the committee stated.
According to the committee, despite field limitations, efforts were made to finish the review work within the allotted time. Significant progress has been achieved in the field, and in its eighth report, 55.57 square kilometers of land have been proposed as private forest based on the most recent status.
The canopy density should not be less than 0.4 in accordance with the standards. The third requirement is that forestry species should make up 75% of the tree composition of such sites.
