Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 73
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Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 74
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Code Context
            if (Configure::read('debug')) {

                trigger_error($message, E_USER_WARNING);

            } else {
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		&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Activists oppose forest advisory panel’s clearance of land for Kalu dam -Meena Menon&#039;,
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-The Hindu
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial Kalu dam in Thane district, drawing sharp criticism from activists and tribals affected by the project.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
A letter on Thursday to Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, conveyed their &amp;quot;utter shock and dismay&amp;quot; at FAC&#039;s decision earlier this month according green signal to divert 999.328 hectares of forest land for Kalu Dam in Murbad taluka in the eco sensitive Western Ghats region.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
The FAC in its meeting on April 3 and 4, agreed to the justification by the Maharashtra government for the project but expressed concern over its &amp;quot;ill-informed commitment&amp;quot; earlier that it will not take up other drinking water projects in the area when it was seeking forest clearance for another dam on Shai river nearby. The FAC noted that the Chief Minister had specifically requested for review of the earlier rejection.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Last April the FAC rejected the clearance since construction had begun on non-forest land without prior approval. It involved submergence of 18 villages and there were issues of connectivity, the dam was located within seven km of a protected area plus the fact that it was located in the eco sensitive zone of the Western Ghats.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
In addition, the project authorities had not provided resettlement plans, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), technical report on wildlife status, or gram sabha resolutions on Forest Rights Act (FRA) compliance, among other things. However, this time while recommending clearance, the FAC said of the 18 villages, only five were to be fully submerged, six partially and seven lose only land. Three bridges will be built to ensure connectivity and according to the minutes of the meeting, members said there was no need for an EIA since this was a drinking water supply project. In addition FAC accepted the State government&#039;s contention based on the Chitale committee&#039;s report that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) would face a shortfall of 5,985 million litres per day (MLD) by 2031 and Kalu dam was important since it would provide 1,140 MLD.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
The FAC said the recommendations of the High Level Working Group on the Western Ghats Panel Report would be binding on the State government and the project authorities and all mitigation measures would have to be undertaken. Apart from penal compensatory afforestation, it also asked for a cumulative impact assessment of all drinking water projects in the region and flora and fauna studies area to be undertaken by the State government at the cost of the user agency and said that the mitigating measures would be binding.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Decision reversed&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
The letter sent by Shramik Mukti Sanghatana, villagers of the affected dam from Murbad, South Asia Network on Dams Rivers and People points out that on April 4, 2013, the FAC went back on its decision and recommended forest clearance despite nothing changing on the ground and all of the objections based on which clearance was rejected in the first place being valid.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
The letter says the project proponents, the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation (KIDC) and the Maharashtra Water Resources Department have not responded properly to any of the points raised earlier by the FAC, the Chief Conservator of Forests (Central), the State Forest Department, affected villagers or civil society organisations.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Condemning the forest clearance, the letter asks the Minister not to give final approval for the dam, ensure all the documents from the project proponent, including gram sabha resolutions for the project, must be on the FAC website at least ten days in advance as per the Central Information Commission&#039;s orders and as also assured by the Minister in public. .
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
None of the documents submitted by the project proponents about the project were available in full with all the annexures on the MoEF website even a week before the FAC meeting on April 3 and 4 and the FAC had ignored the letter sent in protest by various groups. The FAC seems to have relied on the project proponent&#039;s claims and ignored the fact that construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance and other approvals, the activists contend.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Now FAC observes that the dam site was 15 km away from the protected area and there was compliance on FRA from eight gram sabhas, which has been denied by local activists. While the KIDC claims it has gram sabha resolutions approving the dam from eight of the eleven villages that will be fully or partially submerged, Indavi Tulpule of Shramik Mukti Sanghatana says it is not true and all the villages have rejected the project and two Deputy Collectors were present in the gram sabhas when these resolutions were passed. A rehabilitation package of Rs. 68.75 crore without any specific plan was also rejected.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Totally 18 villages with 18,000 people will be affected. There are pending individual and community claims over forest land so that forest land cannot be diverted, Ms. Tulpule argued. &amp;quot;We have made so many representations to the Central government, but nowhere have they considered what the people have said,&amp;quot; she added.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Activists demand action against those responsible for illegal construction of dam&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
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-The Hindu



Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod


After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-The Hindu&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial Kalu dam in Thane district, drawing sharp criticism from activists and tribals affected by the project.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;A letter on Thursday to Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, conveyed their &amp;quot;utter shock and dismay&amp;quot; at FAC&#039;s decision earlier this month according green signal to divert 999.328 hectares of forest land for Kalu Dam in Murbad taluka in the eco sensitive Western Ghats region.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;The FAC in its meeting on April 3 and 4, agreed to the justification by the Maharashtra government for the project but expressed concern over its &amp;quot;ill-informed commitment&amp;quot; earlier that it will not take up other drinking water projects in the area when it was seeking forest clearance for another dam on Shai river nearby. The FAC noted that the Chief Minister had specifically requested for review of the earlier rejection.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Last April the FAC rejected the clearance since construction had begun on non-forest land without prior approval. It involved submergence of 18 villages and there were issues of connectivity, the dam was located within seven km of a protected area plus the fact that it was located in the eco sensitive zone of the Western Ghats.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;In addition, the project authorities had not provided resettlement plans, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), technical report on wildlife status, or gram sabha resolutions on Forest Rights Act (FRA) compliance, among other things. However, this time while recommending clearance, the FAC said of the 18 villages, only five were to be fully submerged, six partially and seven lose only land. Three bridges will be built to ensure connectivity and according to the minutes of the meeting, members said there was no need for an EIA since this was a drinking water supply project. In addition FAC accepted the State government&#039;s contention based on the Chitale committee&#039;s report that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) would face a shortfall of 5,985 million litres per day (MLD) by 2031 and Kalu dam was important since it would provide 1,140 MLD.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;The FAC said the recommendations of the High Level Working Group on the Western Ghats Panel Report would be binding on the State government and the project authorities and all mitigation measures would have to be undertaken. Apart from penal compensatory afforestation, it also asked for a cumulative impact assessment of all drinking water projects in the region and flora and fauna studies area to be undertaken by the State government at the cost of the user agency and said that the mitigating measures would be binding.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Decision reversed&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;The letter sent by Shramik Mukti Sanghatana, villagers of the affected dam from Murbad, South Asia Network on Dams Rivers and People points out that on April 4, 2013, the FAC went back on its decision and recommended forest clearance despite nothing changing on the ground and all of the objections based on which clearance was rejected in the first place being valid.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;The letter says the project proponents, the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation (KIDC) and the Maharashtra Water Resources Department have not responded properly to any of the points raised earlier by the FAC, the Chief Conservator of Forests (Central), the State Forest Department, affected villagers or civil society organisations.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Condemning the forest clearance, the letter asks the Minister not to give final approval for the dam, ensure all the documents from the project proponent, including gram sabha resolutions for the project, must be on the FAC website at least ten days in advance as per the Central Information Commission&#039;s orders and as also assured by the Minister in public. .&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;None of the documents submitted by the project proponents about the project were available in full with all the annexures on the MoEF website even a week before the FAC meeting on April 3 and 4 and the FAC had ignored the letter sent in protest by various groups. The FAC seems to have relied on the project proponent&#039;s claims and ignored the fact that construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance and other approvals, the activists contend.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Now FAC observes that the dam site was 15 km away from the protected area and there was compliance on FRA from eight gram sabhas, which has been denied by local activists. While the KIDC claims it has gram sabha resolutions approving the dam from eight of the eleven villages that will be fully or partially submerged, Indavi Tulpule of Shramik Mukti Sanghatana says it is not true and all the villages have rejected the project and two Deputy Collectors were present in the gram sabhas when these resolutions were passed. A rehabilitation package of Rs. 68.75 crore without any specific plan was also rejected.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Totally 18 villages with 18,000 people will be affected. There are pending individual and community claims over forest land so that forest land cannot be diverted, Ms. Tulpule argued. &amp;quot;We have made so many representations to the Central government, but nowhere have they considered what the people have said,&amp;quot; she added.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Activists demand action against those responsible for illegal construction of dam&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
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	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Activists oppose forest advisory panel’s clearance of land for Kalu dam -Meena Menon&#039;,
	&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
-The Hindu
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial Kalu dam in Thane district, drawing sharp criticism from activists and tribals affected by the project.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
A letter on Thursday to Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, conveyed their &amp;quot;utter shock and dismay&amp;quot; at FAC&#039;s decision earlier this month according green signal to divert 999.328 hectares of forest land for Kalu Dam in Murbad taluka in the eco sensitive Western Ghats region.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
The FAC in its meeting on April 3 and 4, agreed to the justification by the Maharashtra government for the project but expressed concern over its &amp;quot;ill-informed commitment&amp;quot; earlier that it will not take up other drinking water projects in the area when it was seeking forest clearance for another dam on Shai river nearby. The FAC noted that the Chief Minister had specifically requested for review of the earlier rejection.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Last April the FAC rejected the clearance since construction had begun on non-forest land without prior approval. It involved submergence of 18 villages and there were issues of connectivity, the dam was located within seven km of a protected area plus the fact that it was located in the eco sensitive zone of the Western Ghats.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
In addition, the project authorities had not provided resettlement plans, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), technical report on wildlife status, or gram sabha resolutions on Forest Rights Act (FRA) compliance, among other things. However, this time while recommending clearance, the FAC said of the 18 villages, only five were to be fully submerged, six partially and seven lose only land. Three bridges will be built to ensure connectivity and according to the minutes of the meeting, members said there was no need for an EIA since this was a drinking water supply project. In addition FAC accepted the State government&#039;s contention based on the Chitale committee&#039;s report that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) would face a shortfall of 5,985 million litres per day (MLD) by 2031 and Kalu dam was important since it would provide 1,140 MLD.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
The FAC said the recommendations of the High Level Working Group on the Western Ghats Panel Report would be binding on the State government and the project authorities and all mitigation measures would have to be undertaken. Apart from penal compensatory afforestation, it also asked for a cumulative impact assessment of all drinking water projects in the region and flora and fauna studies area to be undertaken by the State government at the cost of the user agency and said that the mitigating measures would be binding.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Decision reversed&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
The letter sent by Shramik Mukti Sanghatana, villagers of the affected dam from Murbad, South Asia Network on Dams Rivers and People points out that on April 4, 2013, the FAC went back on its decision and recommended forest clearance despite nothing changing on the ground and all of the objections based on which clearance was rejected in the first place being valid.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
The letter says the project proponents, the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation (KIDC) and the Maharashtra Water Resources Department have not responded properly to any of the points raised earlier by the FAC, the Chief Conservator of Forests (Central), the State Forest Department, affected villagers or civil society organisations.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Condemning the forest clearance, the letter asks the Minister not to give final approval for the dam, ensure all the documents from the project proponent, including gram sabha resolutions for the project, must be on the FAC website at least ten days in advance as per the Central Information Commission&#039;s orders and as also assured by the Minister in public. .
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
None of the documents submitted by the project proponents about the project were available in full with all the annexures on the MoEF website even a week before the FAC meeting on April 3 and 4 and the FAC had ignored the letter sent in protest by various groups. The FAC seems to have relied on the project proponent&#039;s claims and ignored the fact that construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance and other approvals, the activists contend.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Now FAC observes that the dam site was 15 km away from the protected area and there was compliance on FRA from eight gram sabhas, which has been denied by local activists. While the KIDC claims it has gram sabha resolutions approving the dam from eight of the eleven villages that will be fully or partially submerged, Indavi Tulpule of Shramik Mukti Sanghatana says it is not true and all the villages have rejected the project and two Deputy Collectors were present in the gram sabhas when these resolutions were passed. A rehabilitation package of Rs. 68.75 crore without any specific plan was also rejected.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Totally 18 villages with 18,000 people will be affected. There are pending individual and community claims over forest land so that forest land cannot be diverted, Ms. Tulpule argued. &amp;quot;We have made so many representations to the Central government, but nowhere have they considered what the people have said,&amp;quot; she added.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Activists demand action against those responsible for illegal construction of dam&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Hindu, 29 April, 2013, http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/activists-oppose-forest-advisory-panels-clearance-of-land-for-kalu-dam/article4665220.ece&#039;,
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-The Hindu



Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod


After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-The Hindu&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial Kalu dam in Thane district, drawing sharp criticism from activists and tribals affected by the project.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;A letter on Thursday to Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, conveyed their &amp;quot;utter shock and dismay&amp;quot; at FAC&#039;s decision earlier this month according green signal to divert 999.328 hectares of forest land for Kalu Dam in Murbad taluka in the eco sensitive Western Ghats region.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;The FAC in its meeting on April 3 and 4, agreed to the justification by the Maharashtra government for the project but expressed concern over its &amp;quot;ill-informed commitment&amp;quot; earlier that it will not take up other drinking water projects in the area when it was seeking forest clearance for another dam on Shai river nearby. The FAC noted that the Chief Minister had specifically requested for review of the earlier rejection.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Last April the FAC rejected the clearance since construction had begun on non-forest land without prior approval. It involved submergence of 18 villages and there were issues of connectivity, the dam was located within seven km of a protected area plus the fact that it was located in the eco sensitive zone of the Western Ghats.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;In addition, the project authorities had not provided resettlement plans, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), technical report on wildlife status, or gram sabha resolutions on Forest Rights Act (FRA) compliance, among other things. However, this time while recommending clearance, the FAC said of the 18 villages, only five were to be fully submerged, six partially and seven lose only land. Three bridges will be built to ensure connectivity and according to the minutes of the meeting, members said there was no need for an EIA since this was a drinking water supply project. In addition FAC accepted the State government&#039;s contention based on the Chitale committee&#039;s report that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) would face a shortfall of 5,985 million litres per day (MLD) by 2031 and Kalu dam was important since it would provide 1,140 MLD.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;The FAC said the recommendations of the High Level Working Group on the Western Ghats Panel Report would be binding on the State government and the project authorities and all mitigation measures would have to be undertaken. Apart from penal compensatory afforestation, it also asked for a cumulative impact assessment of all drinking water projects in the region and flora and fauna studies area to be undertaken by the State government at the cost of the user agency and said that the mitigating measures would be binding.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Decision reversed&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;The letter sent by Shramik Mukti Sanghatana, villagers of the affected dam from Murbad, South Asia Network on Dams Rivers and People points out that on April 4, 2013, the FAC went back on its decision and recommended forest clearance despite nothing changing on the ground and all of the objections based on which clearance was rejected in the first place being valid.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;The letter says the project proponents, the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation (KIDC) and the Maharashtra Water Resources Department have not responded properly to any of the points raised earlier by the FAC, the Chief Conservator of Forests (Central), the State Forest Department, affected villagers or civil society organisations.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Condemning the forest clearance, the letter asks the Minister not to give final approval for the dam, ensure all the documents from the project proponent, including gram sabha resolutions for the project, must be on the FAC website at least ten days in advance as per the Central Information Commission&#039;s orders and as also assured by the Minister in public. .&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;None of the documents submitted by the project proponents about the project were available in full with all the annexures on the MoEF website even a week before the FAC meeting on April 3 and 4 and the FAC had ignored the letter sent in protest by various groups. The FAC seems to have relied on the project proponent&#039;s claims and ignored the fact that construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance and other approvals, the activists contend.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Now FAC observes that the dam site was 15 km away from the protected area and there was compliance on FRA from eight gram sabhas, which has been denied by local activists. While the KIDC claims it has gram sabha resolutions approving the dam from eight of the eleven villages that will be fully or partially submerged, Indavi Tulpule of Shramik Mukti Sanghatana says it is not true and all the villages have rejected the project and two Deputy Collectors were present in the gram sabhas when these resolutions were passed. A rehabilitation package of Rs. 68.75 crore without any specific plan was also rejected.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Totally 18 villages with 18,000 people will be affected. There are pending individual and community claims over forest land so that forest land cannot be diverted, Ms. Tulpule argued. &amp;quot;We have made so many representations to the Central government, but nowhere have they considered what the people have said,&amp;quot; she added.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Activists demand action against those responsible for illegal construction of dam&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;
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-The Hindu



Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod


After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial..."/>
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                <strong>Activists oppose forest advisory panel’s clearance of land for Kalu dam -Meena Menon</strong></h1>
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                <div align="justify">-The Hindu</div><p align="justify"><br /><em>Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod</em></p><p align="justify">After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial Kalu dam in Thane district, drawing sharp criticism from activists and tribals affected by the project.</p><p align="justify">A letter on Thursday to Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, conveyed their &quot;utter shock and dismay&quot; at FAC's decision earlier this month according green signal to divert 999.328 hectares of forest land for Kalu Dam in Murbad taluka in the eco sensitive Western Ghats region.</p><p align="justify">The FAC in its meeting on April 3 and 4, agreed to the justification by the Maharashtra government for the project but expressed concern over its &quot;ill-informed commitment&quot; earlier that it will not take up other drinking water projects in the area when it was seeking forest clearance for another dam on Shai river nearby. The FAC noted that the Chief Minister had specifically requested for review of the earlier rejection.</p><p align="justify">Last April the FAC rejected the clearance since construction had begun on non-forest land without prior approval. It involved submergence of 18 villages and there were issues of connectivity, the dam was located within seven km of a protected area plus the fact that it was located in the eco sensitive zone of the Western Ghats.</p><p align="justify">In addition, the project authorities had not provided resettlement plans, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), technical report on wildlife status, or gram sabha resolutions on Forest Rights Act (FRA) compliance, among other things. However, this time while recommending clearance, the FAC said of the 18 villages, only five were to be fully submerged, six partially and seven lose only land. Three bridges will be built to ensure connectivity and according to the minutes of the meeting, members said there was no need for an EIA since this was a drinking water supply project. In addition FAC accepted the State government's contention based on the Chitale committee's report that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) would face a shortfall of 5,985 million litres per day (MLD) by 2031 and Kalu dam was important since it would provide 1,140 MLD.</p><p align="justify">The FAC said the recommendations of the High Level Working Group on the Western Ghats Panel Report would be binding on the State government and the project authorities and all mitigation measures would have to be undertaken. Apart from penal compensatory afforestation, it also asked for a cumulative impact assessment of all drinking water projects in the region and flora and fauna studies area to be undertaken by the State government at the cost of the user agency and said that the mitigating measures would be binding.</p><p align="justify"><em>Decision reversed</em></p><p align="justify">The letter sent by Shramik Mukti Sanghatana, villagers of the affected dam from Murbad, South Asia Network on Dams Rivers and People points out that on April 4, 2013, the FAC went back on its decision and recommended forest clearance despite nothing changing on the ground and all of the objections based on which clearance was rejected in the first place being valid.</p><p align="justify">The letter says the project proponents, the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation (KIDC) and the Maharashtra Water Resources Department have not responded properly to any of the points raised earlier by the FAC, the Chief Conservator of Forests (Central), the State Forest Department, affected villagers or civil society organisations.</p><p align="justify">Condemning the forest clearance, the letter asks the Minister not to give final approval for the dam, ensure all the documents from the project proponent, including gram sabha resolutions for the project, must be on the FAC website at least ten days in advance as per the Central Information Commission's orders and as also assured by the Minister in public. .</p><p align="justify">None of the documents submitted by the project proponents about the project were available in full with all the annexures on the MoEF website even a week before the FAC meeting on April 3 and 4 and the FAC had ignored the letter sent in protest by various groups. The FAC seems to have relied on the project proponent's claims and ignored the fact that construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance and other approvals, the activists contend.</p><p align="justify">Now FAC observes that the dam site was 15 km away from the protected area and there was compliance on FRA from eight gram sabhas, which has been denied by local activists. While the KIDC claims it has gram sabha resolutions approving the dam from eight of the eleven villages that will be fully or partially submerged, Indavi Tulpule of Shramik Mukti Sanghatana says it is not true and all the villages have rejected the project and two Deputy Collectors were present in the gram sabhas when these resolutions were passed. A rehabilitation package of Rs. 68.75 crore without any specific plan was also rejected.</p><p align="justify">Totally 18 villages with 18,000 people will be affected. There are pending individual and community claims over forest land so that forest land cannot be diverted, Ms. Tulpule argued. &quot;We have made so many representations to the Central government, but nowhere have they considered what the people have said,&quot; she added.</p><p align="justify"><em>Activists demand action against those responsible for illegal construction of dam</em></p><p align="justify"><em>Construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance</em></p>               </font>
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		&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Activists oppose forest advisory panel’s clearance of land for Kalu dam -Meena Menon&#039;,
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-The Hindu
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial Kalu dam in Thane district, drawing sharp criticism from activists and tribals affected by the project.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
A letter on Thursday to Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, conveyed their &amp;quot;utter shock and dismay&amp;quot; at FAC&#039;s decision earlier this month according green signal to divert 999.328 hectares of forest land for Kalu Dam in Murbad taluka in the eco sensitive Western Ghats region.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
The FAC in its meeting on April 3 and 4, agreed to the justification by the Maharashtra government for the project but expressed concern over its &amp;quot;ill-informed commitment&amp;quot; earlier that it will not take up other drinking water projects in the area when it was seeking forest clearance for another dam on Shai river nearby. The FAC noted that the Chief Minister had specifically requested for review of the earlier rejection.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Last April the FAC rejected the clearance since construction had begun on non-forest land without prior approval. It involved submergence of 18 villages and there were issues of connectivity, the dam was located within seven km of a protected area plus the fact that it was located in the eco sensitive zone of the Western Ghats.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
In addition, the project authorities had not provided resettlement plans, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), technical report on wildlife status, or gram sabha resolutions on Forest Rights Act (FRA) compliance, among other things. However, this time while recommending clearance, the FAC said of the 18 villages, only five were to be fully submerged, six partially and seven lose only land. Three bridges will be built to ensure connectivity and according to the minutes of the meeting, members said there was no need for an EIA since this was a drinking water supply project. In addition FAC accepted the State government&#039;s contention based on the Chitale committee&#039;s report that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) would face a shortfall of 5,985 million litres per day (MLD) by 2031 and Kalu dam was important since it would provide 1,140 MLD.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
The FAC said the recommendations of the High Level Working Group on the Western Ghats Panel Report would be binding on the State government and the project authorities and all mitigation measures would have to be undertaken. Apart from penal compensatory afforestation, it also asked for a cumulative impact assessment of all drinking water projects in the region and flora and fauna studies area to be undertaken by the State government at the cost of the user agency and said that the mitigating measures would be binding.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Decision reversed&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
The letter sent by Shramik Mukti Sanghatana, villagers of the affected dam from Murbad, South Asia Network on Dams Rivers and People points out that on April 4, 2013, the FAC went back on its decision and recommended forest clearance despite nothing changing on the ground and all of the objections based on which clearance was rejected in the first place being valid.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
The letter says the project proponents, the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation (KIDC) and the Maharashtra Water Resources Department have not responded properly to any of the points raised earlier by the FAC, the Chief Conservator of Forests (Central), the State Forest Department, affected villagers or civil society organisations.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Condemning the forest clearance, the letter asks the Minister not to give final approval for the dam, ensure all the documents from the project proponent, including gram sabha resolutions for the project, must be on the FAC website at least ten days in advance as per the Central Information Commission&#039;s orders and as also assured by the Minister in public. .
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
None of the documents submitted by the project proponents about the project were available in full with all the annexures on the MoEF website even a week before the FAC meeting on April 3 and 4 and the FAC had ignored the letter sent in protest by various groups. The FAC seems to have relied on the project proponent&#039;s claims and ignored the fact that construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance and other approvals, the activists contend.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Now FAC observes that the dam site was 15 km away from the protected area and there was compliance on FRA from eight gram sabhas, which has been denied by local activists. While the KIDC claims it has gram sabha resolutions approving the dam from eight of the eleven villages that will be fully or partially submerged, Indavi Tulpule of Shramik Mukti Sanghatana says it is not true and all the villages have rejected the project and two Deputy Collectors were present in the gram sabhas when these resolutions were passed. A rehabilitation package of Rs. 68.75 crore without any specific plan was also rejected.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Totally 18 villages with 18,000 people will be affected. There are pending individual and community claims over forest land so that forest land cannot be diverted, Ms. Tulpule argued. &amp;quot;We have made so many representations to the Central government, but nowhere have they considered what the people have said,&amp;quot; she added.
&lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;em&gt;Activists demand action against those responsible for illegal construction of dam&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;em&gt;Construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance&lt;/em&gt;
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-The Hindu



Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod


After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-The Hindu&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial Kalu dam in Thane district, drawing sharp criticism from activists and tribals affected by the project.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;A letter on Thursday to Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, conveyed their &amp;quot;utter shock and dismay&amp;quot; at FAC&#039;s decision earlier this month according green signal to divert 999.328 hectares of forest land for Kalu Dam in Murbad taluka in the eco sensitive Western Ghats region.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;The FAC in its meeting on April 3 and 4, agreed to the justification by the Maharashtra government for the project but expressed concern over its &amp;quot;ill-informed commitment&amp;quot; earlier that it will not take up other drinking water projects in the area when it was seeking forest clearance for another dam on Shai river nearby. The FAC noted that the Chief Minister had specifically requested for review of the earlier rejection.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Last April the FAC rejected the clearance since construction had begun on non-forest land without prior approval. It involved submergence of 18 villages and there were issues of connectivity, the dam was located within seven km of a protected area plus the fact that it was located in the eco sensitive zone of the Western Ghats.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;In addition, the project authorities had not provided resettlement plans, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), technical report on wildlife status, or gram sabha resolutions on Forest Rights Act (FRA) compliance, among other things. However, this time while recommending clearance, the FAC said of the 18 villages, only five were to be fully submerged, six partially and seven lose only land. Three bridges will be built to ensure connectivity and according to the minutes of the meeting, members said there was no need for an EIA since this was a drinking water supply project. In addition FAC accepted the State government&#039;s contention based on the Chitale committee&#039;s report that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) would face a shortfall of 5,985 million litres per day (MLD) by 2031 and Kalu dam was important since it would provide 1,140 MLD.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;The FAC said the recommendations of the High Level Working Group on the Western Ghats Panel Report would be binding on the State government and the project authorities and all mitigation measures would have to be undertaken. Apart from penal compensatory afforestation, it also asked for a cumulative impact assessment of all drinking water projects in the region and flora and fauna studies area to be undertaken by the State government at the cost of the user agency and said that the mitigating measures would be binding.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Decision reversed&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;The letter sent by Shramik Mukti Sanghatana, villagers of the affected dam from Murbad, South Asia Network on Dams Rivers and People points out that on April 4, 2013, the FAC went back on its decision and recommended forest clearance despite nothing changing on the ground and all of the objections based on which clearance was rejected in the first place being valid.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;The letter says the project proponents, the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation (KIDC) and the Maharashtra Water Resources Department have not responded properly to any of the points raised earlier by the FAC, the Chief Conservator of Forests (Central), the State Forest Department, affected villagers or civil society organisations.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Condemning the forest clearance, the letter asks the Minister not to give final approval for the dam, ensure all the documents from the project proponent, including gram sabha resolutions for the project, must be on the FAC website at least ten days in advance as per the Central Information Commission&#039;s orders and as also assured by the Minister in public. .&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;None of the documents submitted by the project proponents about the project were available in full with all the annexures on the MoEF website even a week before the FAC meeting on April 3 and 4 and the FAC had ignored the letter sent in protest by various groups. The FAC seems to have relied on the project proponent&#039;s claims and ignored the fact that construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance and other approvals, the activists contend.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Now FAC observes that the dam site was 15 km away from the protected area and there was compliance on FRA from eight gram sabhas, which has been denied by local activists. While the KIDC claims it has gram sabha resolutions approving the dam from eight of the eleven villages that will be fully or partially submerged, Indavi Tulpule of Shramik Mukti Sanghatana says it is not true and all the villages have rejected the project and two Deputy Collectors were present in the gram sabhas when these resolutions were passed. A rehabilitation package of Rs. 68.75 crore without any specific plan was also rejected.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Totally 18 villages with 18,000 people will be affected. There are pending individual and community claims over forest land so that forest land cannot be diverted, Ms. Tulpule argued. &amp;quot;We have made so many representations to the Central government, but nowhere have they considered what the people have said,&amp;quot; she added.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Activists demand action against those responsible for illegal construction of dam&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
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	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Activists oppose forest advisory panel’s clearance of land for Kalu dam -Meena Menon&#039;,
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-The Hindu
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial Kalu dam in Thane district, drawing sharp criticism from activists and tribals affected by the project.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
A letter on Thursday to Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, conveyed their &amp;quot;utter shock and dismay&amp;quot; at FAC&#039;s decision earlier this month according green signal to divert 999.328 hectares of forest land for Kalu Dam in Murbad taluka in the eco sensitive Western Ghats region.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
The FAC in its meeting on April 3 and 4, agreed to the justification by the Maharashtra government for the project but expressed concern over its &amp;quot;ill-informed commitment&amp;quot; earlier that it will not take up other drinking water projects in the area when it was seeking forest clearance for another dam on Shai river nearby. The FAC noted that the Chief Minister had specifically requested for review of the earlier rejection.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Last April the FAC rejected the clearance since construction had begun on non-forest land without prior approval. It involved submergence of 18 villages and there were issues of connectivity, the dam was located within seven km of a protected area plus the fact that it was located in the eco sensitive zone of the Western Ghats.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
In addition, the project authorities had not provided resettlement plans, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), technical report on wildlife status, or gram sabha resolutions on Forest Rights Act (FRA) compliance, among other things. However, this time while recommending clearance, the FAC said of the 18 villages, only five were to be fully submerged, six partially and seven lose only land. Three bridges will be built to ensure connectivity and according to the minutes of the meeting, members said there was no need for an EIA since this was a drinking water supply project. In addition FAC accepted the State government&#039;s contention based on the Chitale committee&#039;s report that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) would face a shortfall of 5,985 million litres per day (MLD) by 2031 and Kalu dam was important since it would provide 1,140 MLD.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
The FAC said the recommendations of the High Level Working Group on the Western Ghats Panel Report would be binding on the State government and the project authorities and all mitigation measures would have to be undertaken. Apart from penal compensatory afforestation, it also asked for a cumulative impact assessment of all drinking water projects in the region and flora and fauna studies area to be undertaken by the State government at the cost of the user agency and said that the mitigating measures would be binding.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Decision reversed&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
The letter sent by Shramik Mukti Sanghatana, villagers of the affected dam from Murbad, South Asia Network on Dams Rivers and People points out that on April 4, 2013, the FAC went back on its decision and recommended forest clearance despite nothing changing on the ground and all of the objections based on which clearance was rejected in the first place being valid.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
The letter says the project proponents, the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation (KIDC) and the Maharashtra Water Resources Department have not responded properly to any of the points raised earlier by the FAC, the Chief Conservator of Forests (Central), the State Forest Department, affected villagers or civil society organisations.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Condemning the forest clearance, the letter asks the Minister not to give final approval for the dam, ensure all the documents from the project proponent, including gram sabha resolutions for the project, must be on the FAC website at least ten days in advance as per the Central Information Commission&#039;s orders and as also assured by the Minister in public. .
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
None of the documents submitted by the project proponents about the project were available in full with all the annexures on the MoEF website even a week before the FAC meeting on April 3 and 4 and the FAC had ignored the letter sent in protest by various groups. The FAC seems to have relied on the project proponent&#039;s claims and ignored the fact that construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance and other approvals, the activists contend.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Now FAC observes that the dam site was 15 km away from the protected area and there was compliance on FRA from eight gram sabhas, which has been denied by local activists. While the KIDC claims it has gram sabha resolutions approving the dam from eight of the eleven villages that will be fully or partially submerged, Indavi Tulpule of Shramik Mukti Sanghatana says it is not true and all the villages have rejected the project and two Deputy Collectors were present in the gram sabhas when these resolutions were passed. A rehabilitation package of Rs. 68.75 crore without any specific plan was also rejected.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Totally 18 villages with 18,000 people will be affected. There are pending individual and community claims over forest land so that forest land cannot be diverted, Ms. Tulpule argued. &amp;quot;We have made so many representations to the Central government, but nowhere have they considered what the people have said,&amp;quot; she added.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Activists demand action against those responsible for illegal construction of dam&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Hindu, 29 April, 2013, http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/activists-oppose-forest-advisory-panels-clearance-of-land-for-kalu-dam/article4665220.ece&#039;,
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-The Hindu



Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod


After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial...&#039;
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Three bridges will be built to ensure connectivity and according to the minutes of the meeting, members said there was no need for an EIA since this was a drinking water supply project. In addition FAC accepted the State government&#039;s contention based on the Chitale committee&#039;s report that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) would face a shortfall of 5,985 million litres per day (MLD) by 2031 and Kalu dam was important since it would provide 1,140 MLD.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;The FAC said the recommendations of the High Level Working Group on the Western Ghats Panel Report would be binding on the State government and the project authorities and all mitigation measures would have to be undertaken. 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-The Hindu



Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod


After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial..."/>
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                <strong>Activists oppose forest advisory panel’s clearance of land for Kalu dam -Meena Menon</strong></h1>
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                <div align="justify">-The Hindu</div><p align="justify"><br /><em>Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod</em></p><p align="justify">After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial Kalu dam in Thane district, drawing sharp criticism from activists and tribals affected by the project.</p><p align="justify">A letter on Thursday to Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, conveyed their &quot;utter shock and dismay&quot; at FAC's decision earlier this month according green signal to divert 999.328 hectares of forest land for Kalu Dam in Murbad taluka in the eco sensitive Western Ghats region.</p><p align="justify">The FAC in its meeting on April 3 and 4, agreed to the justification by the Maharashtra government for the project but expressed concern over its &quot;ill-informed commitment&quot; earlier that it will not take up other drinking water projects in the area when it was seeking forest clearance for another dam on Shai river nearby. The FAC noted that the Chief Minister had specifically requested for review of the earlier rejection.</p><p align="justify">Last April the FAC rejected the clearance since construction had begun on non-forest land without prior approval. It involved submergence of 18 villages and there were issues of connectivity, the dam was located within seven km of a protected area plus the fact that it was located in the eco sensitive zone of the Western Ghats.</p><p align="justify">In addition, the project authorities had not provided resettlement plans, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), technical report on wildlife status, or gram sabha resolutions on Forest Rights Act (FRA) compliance, among other things. However, this time while recommending clearance, the FAC said of the 18 villages, only five were to be fully submerged, six partially and seven lose only land. Three bridges will be built to ensure connectivity and according to the minutes of the meeting, members said there was no need for an EIA since this was a drinking water supply project. In addition FAC accepted the State government's contention based on the Chitale committee's report that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) would face a shortfall of 5,985 million litres per day (MLD) by 2031 and Kalu dam was important since it would provide 1,140 MLD.</p><p align="justify">The FAC said the recommendations of the High Level Working Group on the Western Ghats Panel Report would be binding on the State government and the project authorities and all mitigation measures would have to be undertaken. Apart from penal compensatory afforestation, it also asked for a cumulative impact assessment of all drinking water projects in the region and flora and fauna studies area to be undertaken by the State government at the cost of the user agency and said that the mitigating measures would be binding.</p><p align="justify"><em>Decision reversed</em></p><p align="justify">The letter sent by Shramik Mukti Sanghatana, villagers of the affected dam from Murbad, South Asia Network on Dams Rivers and People points out that on April 4, 2013, the FAC went back on its decision and recommended forest clearance despite nothing changing on the ground and all of the objections based on which clearance was rejected in the first place being valid.</p><p align="justify">The letter says the project proponents, the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation (KIDC) and the Maharashtra Water Resources Department have not responded properly to any of the points raised earlier by the FAC, the Chief Conservator of Forests (Central), the State Forest Department, affected villagers or civil society organisations.</p><p align="justify">Condemning the forest clearance, the letter asks the Minister not to give final approval for the dam, ensure all the documents from the project proponent, including gram sabha resolutions for the project, must be on the FAC website at least ten days in advance as per the Central Information Commission's orders and as also assured by the Minister in public. .</p><p align="justify">None of the documents submitted by the project proponents about the project were available in full with all the annexures on the MoEF website even a week before the FAC meeting on April 3 and 4 and the FAC had ignored the letter sent in protest by various groups. The FAC seems to have relied on the project proponent's claims and ignored the fact that construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance and other approvals, the activists contend.</p><p align="justify">Now FAC observes that the dam site was 15 km away from the protected area and there was compliance on FRA from eight gram sabhas, which has been denied by local activists. While the KIDC claims it has gram sabha resolutions approving the dam from eight of the eleven villages that will be fully or partially submerged, Indavi Tulpule of Shramik Mukti Sanghatana says it is not true and all the villages have rejected the project and two Deputy Collectors were present in the gram sabhas when these resolutions were passed. A rehabilitation package of Rs. 68.75 crore without any specific plan was also rejected.</p><p align="justify">Totally 18 villages with 18,000 people will be affected. There are pending individual and community claims over forest land so that forest land cannot be diverted, Ms. Tulpule argued. &quot;We have made so many representations to the Central government, but nowhere have they considered what the people have said,&quot; she added.</p><p align="justify"><em>Activists demand action against those responsible for illegal construction of dam</em></p><p align="justify"><em>Construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance</em></p>               </font>
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-The Hindu
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&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod&lt;/em&gt;
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After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial Kalu dam in Thane district, drawing sharp criticism from activists and tribals affected by the project.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
A letter on Thursday to Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, conveyed their &amp;quot;utter shock and dismay&amp;quot; at FAC&#039;s decision earlier this month according green signal to divert 999.328 hectares of forest land for Kalu Dam in Murbad taluka in the eco sensitive Western Ghats region.
&lt;/p&gt;
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The FAC in its meeting on April 3 and 4, agreed to the justification by the Maharashtra government for the project but expressed concern over its &amp;quot;ill-informed commitment&amp;quot; earlier that it will not take up other drinking water projects in the area when it was seeking forest clearance for another dam on Shai river nearby. The FAC noted that the Chief Minister had specifically requested for review of the earlier rejection.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Last April the FAC rejected the clearance since construction had begun on non-forest land without prior approval. It involved submergence of 18 villages and there were issues of connectivity, the dam was located within seven km of a protected area plus the fact that it was located in the eco sensitive zone of the Western Ghats.
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In addition, the project authorities had not provided resettlement plans, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), technical report on wildlife status, or gram sabha resolutions on Forest Rights Act (FRA) compliance, among other things. However, this time while recommending clearance, the FAC said of the 18 villages, only five were to be fully submerged, six partially and seven lose only land. Three bridges will be built to ensure connectivity and according to the minutes of the meeting, members said there was no need for an EIA since this was a drinking water supply project. In addition FAC accepted the State government&#039;s contention based on the Chitale committee&#039;s report that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) would face a shortfall of 5,985 million litres per day (MLD) by 2031 and Kalu dam was important since it would provide 1,140 MLD.
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The FAC said the recommendations of the High Level Working Group on the Western Ghats Panel Report would be binding on the State government and the project authorities and all mitigation measures would have to be undertaken. Apart from penal compensatory afforestation, it also asked for a cumulative impact assessment of all drinking water projects in the region and flora and fauna studies area to be undertaken by the State government at the cost of the user agency and said that the mitigating measures would be binding.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Decision reversed&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
The letter sent by Shramik Mukti Sanghatana, villagers of the affected dam from Murbad, South Asia Network on Dams Rivers and People points out that on April 4, 2013, the FAC went back on its decision and recommended forest clearance despite nothing changing on the ground and all of the objections based on which clearance was rejected in the first place being valid.
&lt;/p&gt;
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The letter says the project proponents, the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation (KIDC) and the Maharashtra Water Resources Department have not responded properly to any of the points raised earlier by the FAC, the Chief Conservator of Forests (Central), the State Forest Department, affected villagers or civil society organisations.
&lt;/p&gt;
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Condemning the forest clearance, the letter asks the Minister not to give final approval for the dam, ensure all the documents from the project proponent, including gram sabha resolutions for the project, must be on the FAC website at least ten days in advance as per the Central Information Commission&#039;s orders and as also assured by the Minister in public. .
&lt;/p&gt;
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None of the documents submitted by the project proponents about the project were available in full with all the annexures on the MoEF website even a week before the FAC meeting on April 3 and 4 and the FAC had ignored the letter sent in protest by various groups. The FAC seems to have relied on the project proponent&#039;s claims and ignored the fact that construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance and other approvals, the activists contend.
&lt;/p&gt;
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Now FAC observes that the dam site was 15 km away from the protected area and there was compliance on FRA from eight gram sabhas, which has been denied by local activists. While the KIDC claims it has gram sabha resolutions approving the dam from eight of the eleven villages that will be fully or partially submerged, Indavi Tulpule of Shramik Mukti Sanghatana says it is not true and all the villages have rejected the project and two Deputy Collectors were present in the gram sabhas when these resolutions were passed. A rehabilitation package of Rs. 68.75 crore without any specific plan was also rejected.
&lt;/p&gt;
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Totally 18 villages with 18,000 people will be affected. There are pending individual and community claims over forest land so that forest land cannot be diverted, Ms. Tulpule argued. &amp;quot;We have made so many representations to the Central government, but nowhere have they considered what the people have said,&amp;quot; she added.
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&lt;em&gt;Activists demand action against those responsible for illegal construction of dam&lt;/em&gt;
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&lt;em&gt;Construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance&lt;/em&gt;
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Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod


After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-The Hindu&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial Kalu dam in Thane district, drawing sharp criticism from activists and tribals affected by the project.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;A letter on Thursday to Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, conveyed their &amp;quot;utter shock and dismay&amp;quot; at FAC&#039;s decision earlier this month according green signal to divert 999.328 hectares of forest land for Kalu Dam in Murbad taluka in the eco sensitive Western Ghats region.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;The FAC in its meeting on April 3 and 4, agreed to the justification by the Maharashtra government for the project but expressed concern over its &amp;quot;ill-informed commitment&amp;quot; earlier that it will not take up other drinking water projects in the area when it was seeking forest clearance for another dam on Shai river nearby. The FAC noted that the Chief Minister had specifically requested for review of the earlier rejection.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Last April the FAC rejected the clearance since construction had begun on non-forest land without prior approval. It involved submergence of 18 villages and there were issues of connectivity, the dam was located within seven km of a protected area plus the fact that it was located in the eco sensitive zone of the Western Ghats.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;In addition, the project authorities had not provided resettlement plans, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), technical report on wildlife status, or gram sabha resolutions on Forest Rights Act (FRA) compliance, among other things. However, this time while recommending clearance, the FAC said of the 18 villages, only five were to be fully submerged, six partially and seven lose only land. Three bridges will be built to ensure connectivity and according to the minutes of the meeting, members said there was no need for an EIA since this was a drinking water supply project. In addition FAC accepted the State government&#039;s contention based on the Chitale committee&#039;s report that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) would face a shortfall of 5,985 million litres per day (MLD) by 2031 and Kalu dam was important since it would provide 1,140 MLD.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;The FAC said the recommendations of the High Level Working Group on the Western Ghats Panel Report would be binding on the State government and the project authorities and all mitigation measures would have to be undertaken. Apart from penal compensatory afforestation, it also asked for a cumulative impact assessment of all drinking water projects in the region and flora and fauna studies area to be undertaken by the State government at the cost of the user agency and said that the mitigating measures would be binding.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Decision reversed&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;The letter sent by Shramik Mukti Sanghatana, villagers of the affected dam from Murbad, South Asia Network on Dams Rivers and People points out that on April 4, 2013, the FAC went back on its decision and recommended forest clearance despite nothing changing on the ground and all of the objections based on which clearance was rejected in the first place being valid.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;The letter says the project proponents, the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation (KIDC) and the Maharashtra Water Resources Department have not responded properly to any of the points raised earlier by the FAC, the Chief Conservator of Forests (Central), the State Forest Department, affected villagers or civil society organisations.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Condemning the forest clearance, the letter asks the Minister not to give final approval for the dam, ensure all the documents from the project proponent, including gram sabha resolutions for the project, must be on the FAC website at least ten days in advance as per the Central Information Commission&#039;s orders and as also assured by the Minister in public. .&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;None of the documents submitted by the project proponents about the project were available in full with all the annexures on the MoEF website even a week before the FAC meeting on April 3 and 4 and the FAC had ignored the letter sent in protest by various groups. The FAC seems to have relied on the project proponent&#039;s claims and ignored the fact that construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance and other approvals, the activists contend.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Now FAC observes that the dam site was 15 km away from the protected area and there was compliance on FRA from eight gram sabhas, which has been denied by local activists. While the KIDC claims it has gram sabha resolutions approving the dam from eight of the eleven villages that will be fully or partially submerged, Indavi Tulpule of Shramik Mukti Sanghatana says it is not true and all the villages have rejected the project and two Deputy Collectors were present in the gram sabhas when these resolutions were passed. A rehabilitation package of Rs. 68.75 crore without any specific plan was also rejected.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Totally 18 villages with 18,000 people will be affected. 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-The Hindu
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&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial Kalu dam in Thane district, drawing sharp criticism from activists and tribals affected by the project.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
A letter on Thursday to Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, conveyed their &amp;quot;utter shock and dismay&amp;quot; at FAC&#039;s decision earlier this month according green signal to divert 999.328 hectares of forest land for Kalu Dam in Murbad taluka in the eco sensitive Western Ghats region.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
The FAC in its meeting on April 3 and 4, agreed to the justification by the Maharashtra government for the project but expressed concern over its &amp;quot;ill-informed commitment&amp;quot; earlier that it will not take up other drinking water projects in the area when it was seeking forest clearance for another dam on Shai river nearby. The FAC noted that the Chief Minister had specifically requested for review of the earlier rejection.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Last April the FAC rejected the clearance since construction had begun on non-forest land without prior approval. It involved submergence of 18 villages and there were issues of connectivity, the dam was located within seven km of a protected area plus the fact that it was located in the eco sensitive zone of the Western Ghats.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
In addition, the project authorities had not provided resettlement plans, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), technical report on wildlife status, or gram sabha resolutions on Forest Rights Act (FRA) compliance, among other things. However, this time while recommending clearance, the FAC said of the 18 villages, only five were to be fully submerged, six partially and seven lose only land. Three bridges will be built to ensure connectivity and according to the minutes of the meeting, members said there was no need for an EIA since this was a drinking water supply project. In addition FAC accepted the State government&#039;s contention based on the Chitale committee&#039;s report that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) would face a shortfall of 5,985 million litres per day (MLD) by 2031 and Kalu dam was important since it would provide 1,140 MLD.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
The FAC said the recommendations of the High Level Working Group on the Western Ghats Panel Report would be binding on the State government and the project authorities and all mitigation measures would have to be undertaken. Apart from penal compensatory afforestation, it also asked for a cumulative impact assessment of all drinking water projects in the region and flora and fauna studies area to be undertaken by the State government at the cost of the user agency and said that the mitigating measures would be binding.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Decision reversed&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
The letter sent by Shramik Mukti Sanghatana, villagers of the affected dam from Murbad, South Asia Network on Dams Rivers and People points out that on April 4, 2013, the FAC went back on its decision and recommended forest clearance despite nothing changing on the ground and all of the objections based on which clearance was rejected in the first place being valid.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
The letter says the project proponents, the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation (KIDC) and the Maharashtra Water Resources Department have not responded properly to any of the points raised earlier by the FAC, the Chief Conservator of Forests (Central), the State Forest Department, affected villagers or civil society organisations.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Condemning the forest clearance, the letter asks the Minister not to give final approval for the dam, ensure all the documents from the project proponent, including gram sabha resolutions for the project, must be on the FAC website at least ten days in advance as per the Central Information Commission&#039;s orders and as also assured by the Minister in public. .
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
None of the documents submitted by the project proponents about the project were available in full with all the annexures on the MoEF website even a week before the FAC meeting on April 3 and 4 and the FAC had ignored the letter sent in protest by various groups. The FAC seems to have relied on the project proponent&#039;s claims and ignored the fact that construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance and other approvals, the activists contend.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Now FAC observes that the dam site was 15 km away from the protected area and there was compliance on FRA from eight gram sabhas, which has been denied by local activists. While the KIDC claims it has gram sabha resolutions approving the dam from eight of the eleven villages that will be fully or partially submerged, Indavi Tulpule of Shramik Mukti Sanghatana says it is not true and all the villages have rejected the project and two Deputy Collectors were present in the gram sabhas when these resolutions were passed. A rehabilitation package of Rs. 68.75 crore without any specific plan was also rejected.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Totally 18 villages with 18,000 people will be affected. There are pending individual and community claims over forest land so that forest land cannot be diverted, Ms. Tulpule argued. &amp;quot;We have made so many representations to the Central government, but nowhere have they considered what the people have said,&amp;quot; she added.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Activists demand action against those responsible for illegal construction of dam&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
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-The Hindu



Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod


After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-The Hindu&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial Kalu dam in Thane district, drawing sharp criticism from activists and tribals affected by the project.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;A letter on Thursday to Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, conveyed their &amp;quot;utter shock and dismay&amp;quot; at FAC&#039;s decision earlier this month according green signal to divert 999.328 hectares of forest land for Kalu Dam in Murbad taluka in the eco sensitive Western Ghats region.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;The FAC in its meeting on April 3 and 4, agreed to the justification by the Maharashtra government for the project but expressed concern over its &amp;quot;ill-informed commitment&amp;quot; earlier that it will not take up other drinking water projects in the area when it was seeking forest clearance for another dam on Shai river nearby. The FAC noted that the Chief Minister had specifically requested for review of the earlier rejection.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Last April the FAC rejected the clearance since construction had begun on non-forest land without prior approval. It involved submergence of 18 villages and there were issues of connectivity, the dam was located within seven km of a protected area plus the fact that it was located in the eco sensitive zone of the Western Ghats.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;In addition, the project authorities had not provided resettlement plans, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), technical report on wildlife status, or gram sabha resolutions on Forest Rights Act (FRA) compliance, among other things. However, this time while recommending clearance, the FAC said of the 18 villages, only five were to be fully submerged, six partially and seven lose only land. Three bridges will be built to ensure connectivity and according to the minutes of the meeting, members said there was no need for an EIA since this was a drinking water supply project. In addition FAC accepted the State government&#039;s contention based on the Chitale committee&#039;s report that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) would face a shortfall of 5,985 million litres per day (MLD) by 2031 and Kalu dam was important since it would provide 1,140 MLD.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;The FAC said the recommendations of the High Level Working Group on the Western Ghats Panel Report would be binding on the State government and the project authorities and all mitigation measures would have to be undertaken. Apart from penal compensatory afforestation, it also asked for a cumulative impact assessment of all drinking water projects in the region and flora and fauna studies area to be undertaken by the State government at the cost of the user agency and said that the mitigating measures would be binding.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Decision reversed&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;The letter sent by Shramik Mukti Sanghatana, villagers of the affected dam from Murbad, South Asia Network on Dams Rivers and People points out that on April 4, 2013, the FAC went back on its decision and recommended forest clearance despite nothing changing on the ground and all of the objections based on which clearance was rejected in the first place being valid.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;The letter says the project proponents, the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation (KIDC) and the Maharashtra Water Resources Department have not responded properly to any of the points raised earlier by the FAC, the Chief Conservator of Forests (Central), the State Forest Department, affected villagers or civil society organisations.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Condemning the forest clearance, the letter asks the Minister not to give final approval for the dam, ensure all the documents from the project proponent, including gram sabha resolutions for the project, must be on the FAC website at least ten days in advance as per the Central Information Commission&#039;s orders and as also assured by the Minister in public. .&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;None of the documents submitted by the project proponents about the project were available in full with all the annexures on the MoEF website even a week before the FAC meeting on April 3 and 4 and the FAC had ignored the letter sent in protest by various groups. The FAC seems to have relied on the project proponent&#039;s claims and ignored the fact that construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance and other approvals, the activists contend.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Now FAC observes that the dam site was 15 km away from the protected area and there was compliance on FRA from eight gram sabhas, which has been denied by local activists. While the KIDC claims it has gram sabha resolutions approving the dam from eight of the eleven villages that will be fully or partially submerged, Indavi Tulpule of Shramik Mukti Sanghatana says it is not true and all the villages have rejected the project and two Deputy Collectors were present in the gram sabhas when these resolutions were passed. A rehabilitation package of Rs. 68.75 crore without any specific plan was also rejected.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Totally 18 villages with 18,000 people will be affected. There are pending individual and community claims over forest land so that forest land cannot be diverted, Ms. Tulpule argued. &amp;quot;We have made so many representations to the Central government, but nowhere have they considered what the people have said,&amp;quot; she added.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Activists demand action against those responsible for illegal construction of dam&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;
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-The Hindu



Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod


After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial..."/>
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                <strong>Activists oppose forest advisory panel’s clearance of land for Kalu dam -Meena Menon</strong></h1>
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                <div align="justify">-The Hindu</div><p align="justify"><br /><em>Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod</em></p><p align="justify">After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial Kalu dam in Thane district, drawing sharp criticism from activists and tribals affected by the project.</p><p align="justify">A letter on Thursday to Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, conveyed their &quot;utter shock and dismay&quot; at FAC's decision earlier this month according green signal to divert 999.328 hectares of forest land for Kalu Dam in Murbad taluka in the eco sensitive Western Ghats region.</p><p align="justify">The FAC in its meeting on April 3 and 4, agreed to the justification by the Maharashtra government for the project but expressed concern over its &quot;ill-informed commitment&quot; earlier that it will not take up other drinking water projects in the area when it was seeking forest clearance for another dam on Shai river nearby. The FAC noted that the Chief Minister had specifically requested for review of the earlier rejection.</p><p align="justify">Last April the FAC rejected the clearance since construction had begun on non-forest land without prior approval. It involved submergence of 18 villages and there were issues of connectivity, the dam was located within seven km of a protected area plus the fact that it was located in the eco sensitive zone of the Western Ghats.</p><p align="justify">In addition, the project authorities had not provided resettlement plans, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), technical report on wildlife status, or gram sabha resolutions on Forest Rights Act (FRA) compliance, among other things. However, this time while recommending clearance, the FAC said of the 18 villages, only five were to be fully submerged, six partially and seven lose only land. Three bridges will be built to ensure connectivity and according to the minutes of the meeting, members said there was no need for an EIA since this was a drinking water supply project. In addition FAC accepted the State government's contention based on the Chitale committee's report that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) would face a shortfall of 5,985 million litres per day (MLD) by 2031 and Kalu dam was important since it would provide 1,140 MLD.</p><p align="justify">The FAC said the recommendations of the High Level Working Group on the Western Ghats Panel Report would be binding on the State government and the project authorities and all mitigation measures would have to be undertaken. Apart from penal compensatory afforestation, it also asked for a cumulative impact assessment of all drinking water projects in the region and flora and fauna studies area to be undertaken by the State government at the cost of the user agency and said that the mitigating measures would be binding.</p><p align="justify"><em>Decision reversed</em></p><p align="justify">The letter sent by Shramik Mukti Sanghatana, villagers of the affected dam from Murbad, South Asia Network on Dams Rivers and People points out that on April 4, 2013, the FAC went back on its decision and recommended forest clearance despite nothing changing on the ground and all of the objections based on which clearance was rejected in the first place being valid.</p><p align="justify">The letter says the project proponents, the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation (KIDC) and the Maharashtra Water Resources Department have not responded properly to any of the points raised earlier by the FAC, the Chief Conservator of Forests (Central), the State Forest Department, affected villagers or civil society organisations.</p><p align="justify">Condemning the forest clearance, the letter asks the Minister not to give final approval for the dam, ensure all the documents from the project proponent, including gram sabha resolutions for the project, must be on the FAC website at least ten days in advance as per the Central Information Commission's orders and as also assured by the Minister in public. .</p><p align="justify">None of the documents submitted by the project proponents about the project were available in full with all the annexures on the MoEF website even a week before the FAC meeting on April 3 and 4 and the FAC had ignored the letter sent in protest by various groups. The FAC seems to have relied on the project proponent's claims and ignored the fact that construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance and other approvals, the activists contend.</p><p align="justify">Now FAC observes that the dam site was 15 km away from the protected area and there was compliance on FRA from eight gram sabhas, which has been denied by local activists. While the KIDC claims it has gram sabha resolutions approving the dam from eight of the eleven villages that will be fully or partially submerged, Indavi Tulpule of Shramik Mukti Sanghatana says it is not true and all the villages have rejected the project and two Deputy Collectors were present in the gram sabhas when these resolutions were passed. A rehabilitation package of Rs. 68.75 crore without any specific plan was also rejected.</p><p align="justify">Totally 18 villages with 18,000 people will be affected. There are pending individual and community claims over forest land so that forest land cannot be diverted, Ms. Tulpule argued. &quot;We have made so many representations to the Central government, but nowhere have they considered what the people have said,&quot; she added.</p><p align="justify"><em>Activists demand action against those responsible for illegal construction of dam</em></p><p align="justify"><em>Construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance</em></p>               </font>
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		'title' => 'Activists oppose forest advisory panel’s clearance of land for Kalu dam -Meena Menon',
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		'description' => '<div align="justify">
-The Hindu
</div>
<p align="justify">
<br />
<em>Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod</em>
</p>
<p align="justify">
After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial Kalu dam in Thane district, drawing sharp criticism from activists and tribals affected by the project.
</p>
<p align="justify">
A letter on Thursday to Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, conveyed their &quot;utter shock and dismay&quot; at FAC's decision earlier this month according green signal to divert 999.328 hectares of forest land for Kalu Dam in Murbad taluka in the eco sensitive Western Ghats region.
</p>
<p align="justify">
The FAC in its meeting on April 3 and 4, agreed to the justification by the Maharashtra government for the project but expressed concern over its &quot;ill-informed commitment&quot; earlier that it will not take up other drinking water projects in the area when it was seeking forest clearance for another dam on Shai river nearby. The FAC noted that the Chief Minister had specifically requested for review of the earlier rejection.
</p>
<p align="justify">
Last April the FAC rejected the clearance since construction had begun on non-forest land without prior approval. It involved submergence of 18 villages and there were issues of connectivity, the dam was located within seven km of a protected area plus the fact that it was located in the eco sensitive zone of the Western Ghats.
</p>
<p align="justify">
In addition, the project authorities had not provided resettlement plans, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), technical report on wildlife status, or gram sabha resolutions on Forest Rights Act (FRA) compliance, among other things. However, this time while recommending clearance, the FAC said of the 18 villages, only five were to be fully submerged, six partially and seven lose only land. Three bridges will be built to ensure connectivity and according to the minutes of the meeting, members said there was no need for an EIA since this was a drinking water supply project. In addition FAC accepted the State government's contention based on the Chitale committee's report that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) would face a shortfall of 5,985 million litres per day (MLD) by 2031 and Kalu dam was important since it would provide 1,140 MLD.
</p>
<p align="justify">
The FAC said the recommendations of the High Level Working Group on the Western Ghats Panel Report would be binding on the State government and the project authorities and all mitigation measures would have to be undertaken. Apart from penal compensatory afforestation, it also asked for a cumulative impact assessment of all drinking water projects in the region and flora and fauna studies area to be undertaken by the State government at the cost of the user agency and said that the mitigating measures would be binding.
</p>
<p align="justify">
<em>Decision reversed</em>
</p>
<p align="justify">
The letter sent by Shramik Mukti Sanghatana, villagers of the affected dam from Murbad, South Asia Network on Dams Rivers and People points out that on April 4, 2013, the FAC went back on its decision and recommended forest clearance despite nothing changing on the ground and all of the objections based on which clearance was rejected in the first place being valid.
</p>
<p align="justify">
The letter says the project proponents, the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation (KIDC) and the Maharashtra Water Resources Department have not responded properly to any of the points raised earlier by the FAC, the Chief Conservator of Forests (Central), the State Forest Department, affected villagers or civil society organisations.
</p>
<p align="justify">
Condemning the forest clearance, the letter asks the Minister not to give final approval for the dam, ensure all the documents from the project proponent, including gram sabha resolutions for the project, must be on the FAC website at least ten days in advance as per the Central Information Commission's orders and as also assured by the Minister in public. .
</p>
<p align="justify">
None of the documents submitted by the project proponents about the project were available in full with all the annexures on the MoEF website even a week before the FAC meeting on April 3 and 4 and the FAC had ignored the letter sent in protest by various groups. The FAC seems to have relied on the project proponent's claims and ignored the fact that construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance and other approvals, the activists contend.
</p>
<p align="justify">
Now FAC observes that the dam site was 15 km away from the protected area and there was compliance on FRA from eight gram sabhas, which has been denied by local activists. While the KIDC claims it has gram sabha resolutions approving the dam from eight of the eleven villages that will be fully or partially submerged, Indavi Tulpule of Shramik Mukti Sanghatana says it is not true and all the villages have rejected the project and two Deputy Collectors were present in the gram sabhas when these resolutions were passed. A rehabilitation package of Rs. 68.75 crore without any specific plan was also rejected.
</p>
<p align="justify">
Totally 18 villages with 18,000 people will be affected. There are pending individual and community claims over forest land so that forest land cannot be diverted, Ms. Tulpule argued. &quot;We have made so many representations to the Central government, but nowhere have they considered what the people have said,&quot; she added.
</p>
<p align="justify">
<em>Activists demand action against those responsible for illegal construction of dam</em>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<em>Construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance</em>
</p>',
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-The Hindu



Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod


After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial...',
	'disp' => '<div align="justify">-The Hindu</div><p align="justify"><br /><em>Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod</em></p><p align="justify">After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial Kalu dam in Thane district, drawing sharp criticism from activists and tribals affected by the project.</p><p align="justify">A letter on Thursday to Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, conveyed their &quot;utter shock and dismay&quot; at FAC's decision earlier this month according green signal to divert 999.328 hectares of forest land for Kalu Dam in Murbad taluka in the eco sensitive Western Ghats region.</p><p align="justify">The FAC in its meeting on April 3 and 4, agreed to the justification by the Maharashtra government for the project but expressed concern over its &quot;ill-informed commitment&quot; earlier that it will not take up other drinking water projects in the area when it was seeking forest clearance for another dam on Shai river nearby. The FAC noted that the Chief Minister had specifically requested for review of the earlier rejection.</p><p align="justify">Last April the FAC rejected the clearance since construction had begun on non-forest land without prior approval. It involved submergence of 18 villages and there were issues of connectivity, the dam was located within seven km of a protected area plus the fact that it was located in the eco sensitive zone of the Western Ghats.</p><p align="justify">In addition, the project authorities had not provided resettlement plans, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), technical report on wildlife status, or gram sabha resolutions on Forest Rights Act (FRA) compliance, among other things. However, this time while recommending clearance, the FAC said of the 18 villages, only five were to be fully submerged, six partially and seven lose only land. Three bridges will be built to ensure connectivity and according to the minutes of the meeting, members said there was no need for an EIA since this was a drinking water supply project. In addition FAC accepted the State government's contention based on the Chitale committee's report that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) would face a shortfall of 5,985 million litres per day (MLD) by 2031 and Kalu dam was important since it would provide 1,140 MLD.</p><p align="justify">The FAC said the recommendations of the High Level Working Group on the Western Ghats Panel Report would be binding on the State government and the project authorities and all mitigation measures would have to be undertaken. Apart from penal compensatory afforestation, it also asked for a cumulative impact assessment of all drinking water projects in the region and flora and fauna studies area to be undertaken by the State government at the cost of the user agency and said that the mitigating measures would be binding.</p><p align="justify"><em>Decision reversed</em></p><p align="justify">The letter sent by Shramik Mukti Sanghatana, villagers of the affected dam from Murbad, South Asia Network on Dams Rivers and People points out that on April 4, 2013, the FAC went back on its decision and recommended forest clearance despite nothing changing on the ground and all of the objections based on which clearance was rejected in the first place being valid.</p><p align="justify">The letter says the project proponents, the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation (KIDC) and the Maharashtra Water Resources Department have not responded properly to any of the points raised earlier by the FAC, the Chief Conservator of Forests (Central), the State Forest Department, affected villagers or civil society organisations.</p><p align="justify">Condemning the forest clearance, the letter asks the Minister not to give final approval for the dam, ensure all the documents from the project proponent, including gram sabha resolutions for the project, must be on the FAC website at least ten days in advance as per the Central Information Commission's orders and as also assured by the Minister in public. .</p><p align="justify">None of the documents submitted by the project proponents about the project were available in full with all the annexures on the MoEF website even a week before the FAC meeting on April 3 and 4 and the FAC had ignored the letter sent in protest by various groups. The FAC seems to have relied on the project proponent's claims and ignored the fact that construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance and other approvals, the activists contend.</p><p align="justify">Now FAC observes that the dam site was 15 km away from the protected area and there was compliance on FRA from eight gram sabhas, which has been denied by local activists. While the KIDC claims it has gram sabha resolutions approving the dam from eight of the eleven villages that will be fully or partially submerged, Indavi Tulpule of Shramik Mukti Sanghatana says it is not true and all the villages have rejected the project and two Deputy Collectors were present in the gram sabhas when these resolutions were passed. A rehabilitation package of Rs. 68.75 crore without any specific plan was also rejected.</p><p align="justify">Totally 18 villages with 18,000 people will be affected. There are pending individual and community claims over forest land so that forest land cannot be diverted, Ms. Tulpule argued. &quot;We have made so many representations to the Central government, but nowhere have they considered what the people have said,&quot; she added.</p><p align="justify"><em>Activists demand action against those responsible for illegal construction of dam</em></p><p align="justify"><em>Construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance</em></p>',
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	'title' => 'Activists oppose forest advisory panel’s clearance of land for Kalu dam -Meena Menon',
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-The Hindu
</div>
<p align="justify">
<br />
<em>Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod</em>
</p>
<p align="justify">
After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial Kalu dam in Thane district, drawing sharp criticism from activists and tribals affected by the project.
</p>
<p align="justify">
A letter on Thursday to Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, conveyed their &quot;utter shock and dismay&quot; at FAC's decision earlier this month according green signal to divert 999.328 hectares of forest land for Kalu Dam in Murbad taluka in the eco sensitive Western Ghats region.
</p>
<p align="justify">
The FAC in its meeting on April 3 and 4, agreed to the justification by the Maharashtra government for the project but expressed concern over its &quot;ill-informed commitment&quot; earlier that it will not take up other drinking water projects in the area when it was seeking forest clearance for another dam on Shai river nearby. The FAC noted that the Chief Minister had specifically requested for review of the earlier rejection.
</p>
<p align="justify">
Last April the FAC rejected the clearance since construction had begun on non-forest land without prior approval. It involved submergence of 18 villages and there were issues of connectivity, the dam was located within seven km of a protected area plus the fact that it was located in the eco sensitive zone of the Western Ghats.
</p>
<p align="justify">
In addition, the project authorities had not provided resettlement plans, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), technical report on wildlife status, or gram sabha resolutions on Forest Rights Act (FRA) compliance, among other things. However, this time while recommending clearance, the FAC said of the 18 villages, only five were to be fully submerged, six partially and seven lose only land. Three bridges will be built to ensure connectivity and according to the minutes of the meeting, members said there was no need for an EIA since this was a drinking water supply project. In addition FAC accepted the State government's contention based on the Chitale committee's report that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) would face a shortfall of 5,985 million litres per day (MLD) by 2031 and Kalu dam was important since it would provide 1,140 MLD.
</p>
<p align="justify">
The FAC said the recommendations of the High Level Working Group on the Western Ghats Panel Report would be binding on the State government and the project authorities and all mitigation measures would have to be undertaken. Apart from penal compensatory afforestation, it also asked for a cumulative impact assessment of all drinking water projects in the region and flora and fauna studies area to be undertaken by the State government at the cost of the user agency and said that the mitigating measures would be binding.
</p>
<p align="justify">
<em>Decision reversed</em>
</p>
<p align="justify">
The letter sent by Shramik Mukti Sanghatana, villagers of the affected dam from Murbad, South Asia Network on Dams Rivers and People points out that on April 4, 2013, the FAC went back on its decision and recommended forest clearance despite nothing changing on the ground and all of the objections based on which clearance was rejected in the first place being valid.
</p>
<p align="justify">
The letter says the project proponents, the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation (KIDC) and the Maharashtra Water Resources Department have not responded properly to any of the points raised earlier by the FAC, the Chief Conservator of Forests (Central), the State Forest Department, affected villagers or civil society organisations.
</p>
<p align="justify">
Condemning the forest clearance, the letter asks the Minister not to give final approval for the dam, ensure all the documents from the project proponent, including gram sabha resolutions for the project, must be on the FAC website at least ten days in advance as per the Central Information Commission's orders and as also assured by the Minister in public. .
</p>
<p align="justify">
None of the documents submitted by the project proponents about the project were available in full with all the annexures on the MoEF website even a week before the FAC meeting on April 3 and 4 and the FAC had ignored the letter sent in protest by various groups. The FAC seems to have relied on the project proponent's claims and ignored the fact that construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance and other approvals, the activists contend.
</p>
<p align="justify">
Now FAC observes that the dam site was 15 km away from the protected area and there was compliance on FRA from eight gram sabhas, which has been denied by local activists. While the KIDC claims it has gram sabha resolutions approving the dam from eight of the eleven villages that will be fully or partially submerged, Indavi Tulpule of Shramik Mukti Sanghatana says it is not true and all the villages have rejected the project and two Deputy Collectors were present in the gram sabhas when these resolutions were passed. A rehabilitation package of Rs. 68.75 crore without any specific plan was also rejected.
</p>
<p align="justify">
Totally 18 villages with 18,000 people will be affected. There are pending individual and community claims over forest land so that forest land cannot be diverted, Ms. Tulpule argued. &quot;We have made so many representations to the Central government, but nowhere have they considered what the people have said,&quot; she added.
</p>
<p align="justify">
<em>Activists demand action against those responsible for illegal construction of dam</em>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<em>Construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance</em>
</p>',
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-The Hindu



Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod


After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial...'
$disp = '<div align="justify">-The Hindu</div><p align="justify"><br /><em>Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod</em></p><p align="justify">After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial Kalu dam in Thane district, drawing sharp criticism from activists and tribals affected by the project.</p><p align="justify">A letter on Thursday to Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, conveyed their &quot;utter shock and dismay&quot; at FAC's decision earlier this month according green signal to divert 999.328 hectares of forest land for Kalu Dam in Murbad taluka in the eco sensitive Western Ghats region.</p><p align="justify">The FAC in its meeting on April 3 and 4, agreed to the justification by the Maharashtra government for the project but expressed concern over its &quot;ill-informed commitment&quot; earlier that it will not take up other drinking water projects in the area when it was seeking forest clearance for another dam on Shai river nearby. The FAC noted that the Chief Minister had specifically requested for review of the earlier rejection.</p><p align="justify">Last April the FAC rejected the clearance since construction had begun on non-forest land without prior approval. It involved submergence of 18 villages and there were issues of connectivity, the dam was located within seven km of a protected area plus the fact that it was located in the eco sensitive zone of the Western Ghats.</p><p align="justify">In addition, the project authorities had not provided resettlement plans, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), technical report on wildlife status, or gram sabha resolutions on Forest Rights Act (FRA) compliance, among other things. However, this time while recommending clearance, the FAC said of the 18 villages, only five were to be fully submerged, six partially and seven lose only land. Three bridges will be built to ensure connectivity and according to the minutes of the meeting, members said there was no need for an EIA since this was a drinking water supply project. In addition FAC accepted the State government's contention based on the Chitale committee's report that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) would face a shortfall of 5,985 million litres per day (MLD) by 2031 and Kalu dam was important since it would provide 1,140 MLD.</p><p align="justify">The FAC said the recommendations of the High Level Working Group on the Western Ghats Panel Report would be binding on the State government and the project authorities and all mitigation measures would have to be undertaken. Apart from penal compensatory afforestation, it also asked for a cumulative impact assessment of all drinking water projects in the region and flora and fauna studies area to be undertaken by the State government at the cost of the user agency and said that the mitigating measures would be binding.</p><p align="justify"><em>Decision reversed</em></p><p align="justify">The letter sent by Shramik Mukti Sanghatana, villagers of the affected dam from Murbad, South Asia Network on Dams Rivers and People points out that on April 4, 2013, the FAC went back on its decision and recommended forest clearance despite nothing changing on the ground and all of the objections based on which clearance was rejected in the first place being valid.</p><p align="justify">The letter says the project proponents, the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation (KIDC) and the Maharashtra Water Resources Department have not responded properly to any of the points raised earlier by the FAC, the Chief Conservator of Forests (Central), the State Forest Department, affected villagers or civil society organisations.</p><p align="justify">Condemning the forest clearance, the letter asks the Minister not to give final approval for the dam, ensure all the documents from the project proponent, including gram sabha resolutions for the project, must be on the FAC website at least ten days in advance as per the Central Information Commission's orders and as also assured by the Minister in public. .</p><p align="justify">None of the documents submitted by the project proponents about the project were available in full with all the annexures on the MoEF website even a week before the FAC meeting on April 3 and 4 and the FAC had ignored the letter sent in protest by various groups. The FAC seems to have relied on the project proponent's claims and ignored the fact that construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance and other approvals, the activists contend.</p><p align="justify">Now FAC observes that the dam site was 15 km away from the protected area and there was compliance on FRA from eight gram sabhas, which has been denied by local activists. While the KIDC claims it has gram sabha resolutions approving the dam from eight of the eleven villages that will be fully or partially submerged, Indavi Tulpule of Shramik Mukti Sanghatana says it is not true and all the villages have rejected the project and two Deputy Collectors were present in the gram sabhas when these resolutions were passed. A rehabilitation package of Rs. 68.75 crore without any specific plan was also rejected.</p><p align="justify">Totally 18 villages with 18,000 people will be affected. There are pending individual and community claims over forest land so that forest land cannot be diverted, Ms. Tulpule argued. &quot;We have made so many representations to the Central government, but nowhere have they considered what the people have said,&quot; she added.</p><p align="justify"><em>Activists demand action against those responsible for illegal construction of dam</em></p><p align="justify"><em>Construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance</em></p>'
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Activists oppose forest advisory panel’s clearance of land for Kalu dam -Meena Menon

-The Hindu Shramik Mukti Sanghatana appeals to Jayanthi Natarajan not to give final nod After rejecting a proposal last year, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial Kalu dam in Thane district, drawing sharp criticism from activists and tribals affected by the project. A letter on Thursday to Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, conveyed their "utter shock and dismay" at FAC's decision earlier this month according green signal to divert 999.328 hectares of forest land for Kalu Dam in Murbad taluka in the eco sensitive Western Ghats region. The FAC in its meeting on April 3 and 4, agreed to the justification by the Maharashtra government for the project but expressed concern over its "ill-informed commitment" earlier that it will not take up other drinking water projects in the area when it was seeking forest clearance for another dam on Shai river nearby. The FAC noted that the Chief Minister had specifically requested for review of the earlier rejection. Last April the FAC rejected the clearance since construction had begun on non-forest land without prior approval. It involved submergence of 18 villages and there were issues of connectivity, the dam was located within seven km of a protected area plus the fact that it was located in the eco sensitive zone of the Western Ghats. In addition, the project authorities had not provided resettlement plans, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), technical report on wildlife status, or gram sabha resolutions on Forest Rights Act (FRA) compliance, among other things. However, this time while recommending clearance, the FAC said of the 18 villages, only five were to be fully submerged, six partially and seven lose only land. Three bridges will be built to ensure connectivity and according to the minutes of the meeting, members said there was no need for an EIA since this was a drinking water supply project. In addition FAC accepted the State government's contention based on the Chitale committee's report that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) would face a shortfall of 5,985 million litres per day (MLD) by 2031 and Kalu dam was important since it would provide 1,140 MLD. The FAC said the recommendations of the High Level Working Group on the Western Ghats Panel Report would be binding on the State government and the project authorities and all mitigation measures would have to be undertaken. Apart from penal compensatory afforestation, it also asked for a cumulative impact assessment of all drinking water projects in the region and flora and fauna studies area to be undertaken by the State government at the cost of the user agency and said that the mitigating measures would be binding. Decision reversed The letter sent by Shramik Mukti Sanghatana, villagers of the affected dam from Murbad, South Asia Network on Dams Rivers and People points out that on April 4, 2013, the FAC went back on its decision and recommended forest clearance despite nothing changing on the ground and all of the objections based on which clearance was rejected in the first place being valid. The letter says the project proponents, the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation (KIDC) and the Maharashtra Water Resources Department have not responded properly to any of the points raised earlier by the FAC, the Chief Conservator of Forests (Central), the State Forest Department, affected villagers or civil society organisations. Condemning the forest clearance, the letter asks the Minister not to give final approval for the dam, ensure all the documents from the project proponent, including gram sabha resolutions for the project, must be on the FAC website at least ten days in advance as per the Central Information Commission's orders and as also assured by the Minister in public. . None of the documents submitted by the project proponents about the project were available in full with all the annexures on the MoEF website even a week before the FAC meeting on April 3 and 4 and the FAC had ignored the letter sent in protest by various groups. The FAC seems to have relied on the project proponent's claims and ignored the fact that construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance and other approvals, the activists contend. Now FAC observes that the dam site was 15 km away from the protected area and there was compliance on FRA from eight gram sabhas, which has been denied by local activists. While the KIDC claims it has gram sabha resolutions approving the dam from eight of the eleven villages that will be fully or partially submerged, Indavi Tulpule of Shramik Mukti Sanghatana says it is not true and all the villages have rejected the project and two Deputy Collectors were present in the gram sabhas when these resolutions were passed. A rehabilitation package of Rs. 68.75 crore without any specific plan was also rejected. Totally 18 villages with 18,000 people will be affected. There are pending individual and community claims over forest land so that forest land cannot be diverted, Ms. Tulpule argued. "We have made so many representations to the Central government, but nowhere have they considered what the people have said," she added. Activists demand action against those responsible for illegal construction of dam Construction on the dam had gone ahead without the forest clearance