Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI:The Forest Department’s project screening committee has given the initial nod for the diversion of nearly 66 hectares of forest land within the Codli iron ore mining lease at Dharbandora, which is currently operated by JSW.
The Codli block—spread across 377.08 hectares—is Goa’s largest mining lease. It was previously operated by Vedanta Ltd and Sociedade Timblo Irmaos Ltd, and portions of its forested areas have been used in earlier mining phases as well.
As per the details submitted by JSW, 65.97 hectares of the block fall under forest area, while the remaining 311.12 hectares are categorised as non-forest land. The committee, at its meeting last month, agreed to advance the proposal and forwarded it to the Deputy Conservator of Forests (South) for a detailed examination.
“The Committee has decided to process the proposal further and transmit it to the DCF (South) for evaluation. The DCF shall scrutinise the proposal once all undertakings and required documents are received from the User Agency,” the panel recorded.
JSW had approached the department seeking permission to utilise the forested portion even before the lease agreement is formally executed. The proposal indicates that 33.98 hectares of the total block contain ore, while 343.10 hectares are non-mineralised. The site is estimated to hold 48.49 million metric tonnes of iron ore, plus around 2.68 million metric tonnes of dumps.
While reviewing the project, committee members noted that the Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary is only 1.52 km from the proposed site. As a result, JSW has been directed to obtain an ecological impact assessment from the competent wildlife authorities before the forest diversion goes ahead.
Reaffirming its land calculations, the panel noted that 65.9686 hectares of the Codli lease fall under forest category. It has asked the DCF (South) to verify this survey-wise, with assistance from the DCF (Working Plan).
The committee also instructed JSW to demarcate a 7.5-metre safety strip along the inner perimeter of the forest area identified for diversion. This buffer must include DGPS-tagged boundary pillars and must be developed and maintained as a green belt.
The company has further been told to submit an annual plantation schedule for the green belt as part of the project requirements.
