<p>Reacting to the State cabinet decision, Jairam Ramesh in his letter to Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa said the State government might have given permission but, as per the Forest Conservation Act, the final authority for diverting forest land for non-forestry purposes, including mining, is decided by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. <br /><br />“In am sure that the state government is well aware of this but I did not want to leave any ambiguity on this score especially in view of media reports,” Jairam said in the letter. <br /><br />The minister also said that he “had seen the media reports on the diversion of forest <br />lands to mining where the home minister of Karnataka is quoted as having said that this decision was taken after consulting the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests”. <br /><br />The Karnataka government had approved mining in 5,000 sq km of mineral rich reserve forests areas in Belgaum, Shimoga and Mysore districts.<br /><br />While the state government strongly defended its decision saying it was done to create more jobs, environmentalists have expressed their concern over the depletion of forest wealth in the State. The Karnataka Government’s decision on granting permission for mining in the forest area has been opposed by a number of MPs from the State, including those from the BJP.<br /><br />MPs’ plea<br /><br />Expressing concern over the State government’s move to deserve forest areas, the MPs, cutting across party lines, on Tuesday sought the Centre’s immediate intervention in protecting forest wealth in the State. <br /><br />Many Parliamentarians, including Ananth Kumar Hegde (BJP), H Vishwanath and Dhruvanarayana (Congress) and N Cheluvarayaswamy (JD-S), met Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh here and asked him not to approve any proposal from Karnataka to dereserve forest areas. <br /><br />“We will not allow the government to destroy the Western Ghats. Already a lot of forests have been lost in this region due to mushrooming of hydro-power generating units and other projects,” Ananth Kumar Hedge told Deccan Herald here. <br /><br />“The minister has promised us to take all steps to protect forests in Karnataka and sought our support for his move,” Hegde said. <br /></p>
<p>Reacting to the State cabinet decision, Jairam Ramesh in his letter to Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa said the State government might have given permission but, as per the Forest Conservation Act, the final authority for diverting forest land for non-forestry purposes, including mining, is decided by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. <br /><br />“In am sure that the state government is well aware of this but I did not want to leave any ambiguity on this score especially in view of media reports,” Jairam said in the letter. <br /><br />The minister also said that he “had seen the media reports on the diversion of forest <br />lands to mining where the home minister of Karnataka is quoted as having said that this decision was taken after consulting the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests”. <br /><br />The Karnataka government had approved mining in 5,000 sq km of mineral rich reserve forests areas in Belgaum, Shimoga and Mysore districts.<br /><br />While the state government strongly defended its decision saying it was done to create more jobs, environmentalists have expressed their concern over the depletion of forest wealth in the State. The Karnataka Government’s decision on granting permission for mining in the forest area has been opposed by a number of MPs from the State, including those from the BJP.<br /><br />MPs’ plea<br /><br />Expressing concern over the State government’s move to deserve forest areas, the MPs, cutting across party lines, on Tuesday sought the Centre’s immediate intervention in protecting forest wealth in the State. <br /><br />Many Parliamentarians, including Ananth Kumar Hegde (BJP), H Vishwanath and Dhruvanarayana (Congress) and N Cheluvarayaswamy (JD-S), met Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh here and asked him not to approve any proposal from Karnataka to dereserve forest areas. <br /><br />“We will not allow the government to destroy the Western Ghats. Already a lot of forests have been lost in this region due to mushrooming of hydro-power generating units and other projects,” Ananth Kumar Hedge told Deccan Herald here. <br /><br />“The minister has promised us to take all steps to protect forests in Karnataka and sought our support for his move,” Hegde said. <br /></p>
