New Delhi, March 13 A parliamentary panel on Friday recommended that the Ministry of Environment should urge all states and Union territories to conduct drone surveys of land in forest areas to help curb encroachment.
In a report tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change also said that reports related to such drone surveys should be made public.
This would enable concerned citizens and authorities to verify the status of land in forest areas before any commercial activity, sale, or purchase of such areas takes place, according to the panel.
It also noted numerous instances of forest land sales involving illegal conversion or unauthorized transfer, frequently involving a nexus between private parties, developers, and officials.
The panel said that some reports suggest that 13,000 sq km of forest area was illegally occupied across 25 states.
It said that under Rule 16(1) of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rules, 2023, all states and UT administrations are required to prepare and maintain consolidated records of all categories of forest land to which the provisions of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, are applicable.
However, according to the panel, it is not clear whether such information is available in the public domain or is easily accessible to the public at large.