Jamshedpur: The Jharkhand State Forest Department has forwarded a proposal to divert 34.83 hectares (about 86.07 acres) of forest land in the Seraikela Forest Division for the expansion of an integrated steel plant by Amalgam Steel & Power Limited.
The proposed project is located at Mauza-Kandra and requires a total of 122.28 hectares of land. Out of this, 87.45 hectares is non-forest land, while 34.83 hectares falls under the forest category.
Officials stated that the forest land proposed for diversion includes 32.29 hectares of notified Protected Forest and 2.54 hectares classified as “Jungle-Jhari.” The vegetation density in the area has been recorded at 0.2. The site does not fall within any National Park or Wildlife Sanctuary. However, the department has noted the presence of rare and endangered species of flora and fauna in the surrounding region.
The proposal, bearing number FP/JH/IND/116046/2020, was recently updated on the Parivesh 1.0 portal after rectifying technical discrepancies. These included issues related to KML mapping data, cost-benefit analysis, and authentication of land schedules. The proposal has been recommended by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) and the Nodal Officer, Sanjeev Kumar. The opinion of the Chief Wildlife Warden is awaited and will be submitted separately.
The report also mentions a previous violation of the Forest (Conservation) Act by the company. The user agency is reported to have encroached upon 0.809 hectares of forest land in Tilopada village, covering plots 59, 60, and 122. A complaint was registered under Case No. 582/2022, and proceedings under the Bihar Public Land Encroachment (BPLE) Act are pending. Authorities have suggested the imposition of Penalty Net Present Value (NPV) in connection with the violation.
As part of the compensatory afforestation plan, the company has identified 38.16 hectares of non-forest land across three divisions. This includes 12.48 hectares in Kamta and Salam (Sisai block) under Gumla division, 5.45 hectares in Banmakri (Ghatshila) under Jamshedpur division, and 20.23 hectares in Hesalong (Kudku block) under Seraikela division.
Further approvals will be required before the final clearance of the proposal under the Forest (Conservation) Act.
