NEW DELHI: An advisory panel of the environment ministry has given in-principle approval for diversion/de-notification of protected forest land for multiple projects in different states. These include the diversion of more than 109 hectares of forest land in West Bengal for a coal mine and de-notification of over 1,501 hectares of reserve forest land for relocating five villages from the core area of the Amrabad Tiger Reserve in Telangana.The project in West Bengal pertains to diversion of forest land in Durgapur forest division for the Gourangdih ABC coal mine, a project which involves the rehabilitation of 629 families. The proposal was first submitted in 2019 and underwent several rounds of scrutiny, revisions and field visits. The decision on these projects was taken at a meeting of the advisory committee of the environment ministry on July 30.In the case of de-notification of reserve forest land in Nagarkurnool district of Telangana, the state govt, in its proposal to the advisory panel, had said the relocation was aimed at consolidating wildlife habitat, reducing human-wildlife conflict and protecting the ecosystem.According to the state govt’s proposal, a total of 1,54,977 trees of 27 species will be felled for the exercise. The proposal also involves relocation of villages in two phases. The other proposals for diversion of forests which got in-principle approval from the advisory panel include exploration drilling for hydrocarbons in Namram Reserved Forest in Golaghat district of Assam and oil and gas exploration drilling in Namphur Reserved Forest in Changlang district in Arunachal Pradesh. The scale of diversion of forests in these cases is quite low compared to the projects in West Bengal and Telangana.