The Maharashtra government has approved the diversion of nearly 0.78 hectares of forest land, including reserved forest and mangrove areas, for two infrastructure projects proposed by Adani Group companies in Raigad and Amravati.
The approvals were issued through two separate Government Resolutions by the state’s Forest Department, allowing land to be diverted to Adani Cementation Limited and Adani Total Gas Limited for projects related to cement logistics and city gas distribution.
The larger clearance covers 0.6497 hectares of reserved forest, nala mangrove forest and creek mangrove forest at Shahapur and Shahabaz villages in Alibag, Raigad district. The land has been approved for a proposed cement bulk terminal, including a berthing jetty, conveyor corridor, backup facilities and an approach road.
A second resolution permits the diversion of 0.1281 hectares of reserved and identified forest land in Amravati for laying an underground steel pipeline as part of Adani Total Gas’ natural gas distribution network.
The government has attached conditions to both approvals. Forest officials must be allowed unrestricted access to the diverted land, and the permissions may be withdrawn if access is obstructed or if the prescribed conditions are violated.
Together, the two projects account for approximately 83,700 square feet of diverted forest land, with the Raigad project involving ecologically sensitive mangrove forests. The approvals form part of the statutory process that allows forest land to be diverted for non-forest purposes, subject to regulatory conditions.
However, the government resolutions do not provide details of compensatory afforestation or other mitigation measures beyond the conditions attached to the approvals. While the diversion has been formally cleared, the orders leave unanswered how the ecological impact of converting reserved forest and mangrove land will be offset, an aspect that is often examined alongside forest diversion approvals.
