Forest areas encroached in 25 states, UTs; MP, Assam worst affected: Government report
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New Delhi (PTI): Over 13,000 sq km of forest area, more than the total geographical area of Delhi, Sikkim and Goa combined, is under encroachment in 25 states and Union Territories, according to data submitted by the Union Environment Ministry to the National Green Tribunal.
Last year, the NGT took suo motu cognisance of a PTI report that cited government data showing that 7,50,648 hectares (or 7,506.48 sq km) of forest area -- more than five times the size of Delhi -- was under encroachment in India.
In April last year, the NGT had directed the ministry to compile the details of encroachment of forest areas in all states and Union Territories in a prescribed format.
In a report submitted to the NGT last week, the ministry said that as of March 2024, a total of 13,05,668.1 hectares (or 13,056 sq km) of forest area was under encroachment in 25 states and UTs that have provided data so far.
These states and UTs are Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Dadar & Nagar and Daman & Diu, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Maharashtra, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Sikkim Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram and Manipur.
States and UTs, which are still to submit the data and details on forest encroachment, are Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan, Telangana, West Bengal, Nagaland, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Forest area or The Recorded Forest Area (RFA) includes land officially designated as forest by the government, even if it does not have tree cover.
RFA is further divided into three categories: reserved forests, which have full protection, with activities like hunting and grazing generally banned; protected forests, where some activities are allowed unless specifically restricted; and unclassed forests, which are not classified as reserved or protected.
According to the ministry's report, Madhya Pradesh had the highest forest encroachment among all states and UTs, with 5,460.9 sq km affected as of March 2024.
Assam has 3,620.9 sq km of forest area under encroachment.
A total of 863.08 sq km of forest land in Karnataka is under encroachment, followed by 575.54 sq km in Maharashtra, 534.9 sq km in Arunachal Pradesh, 405.07 sq km in Odisha, 264.97 sq km in Uttar Pradesh, 247.72 sq km in Mizoram, 200.40 sq km in Jharkhand and 168.91 sq km in Chhattisgarh.
Tamil Nadu has 157.68 sq km of encroached forest land, Andhra Pradesh 133.18 sq km, Gujarat 130.08 sq km, Punjab 75.67 sq km, Uttarakhand 49.92 sq km and Kerala 49.75 sq km, 42.42 sq km in Tripura, 37.42 sq km in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and 32.7 sq km in Manipur.
The ministry's report said that encroachment has been removed from 409.77 sq km of forest land so far. However, it is unclear whether this area was excluded from the total forest land under encroachment as of March 2024.
The ministry informed the NGT that it had asked states to submit data through letters sent on May 1, May 17 and May 28 last year. States and UTs were also reminded multiple times over the phone and a meeting was held with them on November 11.
The ministry sent further reminder letters on February 22 and March 26 this year, asking the remaining states and UTs to provide the information in a tabulated format.
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Insensitive of Pune hospital to deny admission to woman, says Fadnavis; forms inquiry panel
Mumbai (PTI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered the formation of a committee to inquire into the death of a pregnant woman after she was allegedly refused admission by Pune's leading Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital over non-payment of a deposit of Rs 10 lakh.
The controversy escalated on Friday with local political activists staging a protest outside the hospital and the hospital claiming that the woman's relatives were making misleading allegations.
A day earlier, BJP MLC Amit Gorkhe claimed in a video message that Tanisha Bhise, the wife of his personal assistant, was refused admission by the hospital. She was taken to another hospital where she died after delivering twins, he said.
A statement from the Chief Minister's Office said on Friday that he had taken serious note of the incident. "He has ordered the formation of an inquiry committee under the chairmanship of the Joint Commissioner of Charity, Pune," it said.
It said that the deputy secretary or under-secretary of the Law and Justice department would be the member secretary of the committee.
Further, instructions have been issued to the principal secretary, the Law and Justice department and the charity commissioner to ensure that the Charity Patient Scheme prepared as per the directions of the High Court is effectively implemented by all charity hospitals, the CMO said.
"All charitable hospitals should seek approval from the 'Charity Hospital Help Desk' through the online system to make reserved beds available to patients from the poor and vulnerable groups," it said.
The government has approved 186 posts of charitable health workers in charitable hospitals, and they should be filled immediately, the CMO statement said.
Talking to reporters here, Fadnavis said it was "insensitive" on the part of the hospital to deny admission to a pregnant woman.
He conceded that there was a lot of anger among the people over the incident.
"Medical ethics are needed. The Chief Minister's medical cell also intervened, but the hospital did not budge," Fadnavis said.
An internal inquiry report of the Mangeshkar Hospital claimed that the allegations of denial of admission for non-payment of Rs 10 lakh were "misleading" and made "out of frustration" by her family.
The woman's pregnancy was in the high-risk category, and her two underweight fetuses of seven months, coupled with a history of an old ailment, required Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) treatment for at least two months, it said.
The treatment required Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh and the family was advised that in case of lack of funds, they could admit the patient to the government-run Sassoon General Hospital for a complicated surgery, it added.
BJP MLC Chitra Wagh, meanwhile, came under criticism for a social media post praising the party's women's wing members who targeted and vandalised a private clinic in Pune's Kothrud area belonging to Dr Shusrut Ghaisas, who works at the hospital.
Dr Nilima Ghaisas, his mother, said her son did not practice there.
Activist Vishwambhar Choudhari criticised Wagh's remarks and claimed that the BJP-led state government recently allotted land to the hospital for Rs 1 per year rent.
The deceased woman's husband was the personal assistant of a BJP Member of the Legislative Council, yet he could not do anything, Chaudhari said.
