Centre to Uttarakhand: Explore alternative land to expand airport
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF) has asked the Uttarakhand government to consider avoiding sensitive areas of the Shivalik Elephant Reserve while exploring land suitable to use for the expansion of Dehradun’s Jolly Grant Airport.
The forest conservation division of the MoEF has made this observation in response to a Uttarakhand government proposal for the diversion of 87 hectare (ha) of forest land in Dehradun district for the expansion of the airport.
Assistant Inspector General of Forests Sandeep Sharma, in a letter to the Uttarakhand Forest Department, said the area proposed for diversion is a ‘High Conservation Value’ area and will cause fragmentation of riverside forests situated between the existing runway and the river. “Out of the 87.0185 ha proposed area to be diverted, 47 ha area falls under MDF [moderately dense forest].
