Tunnel Construction: The New Green Revolution?

The Union environment ministry has deemed tunnel construction on forest land as environmentally friendly, equating it to underground mining. This decision exempts such projects from compensatory afforestation, recognizing their minimal surface disturbance. The ruling follows requests from Rajasthan regarding irrigation-related tunnel projects.


Devdiscourse News Desk | New Delhi | Updated: 05-02-2025 18:24 IST | Created: 05-02-2025 18:24 IST
Tunnel Construction: The New Green Revolution?
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The Union environment ministry has clarified that constructing tunnels on forest land for projects like irrigation and transportation is comparable to underground mining in terms of environmental impact.

This classification exempts these projects from compensatory afforestation, taking into account their lack of surface disturbance.

The decision comes after a request from the Rajasthan government concerning water resource development tunnels.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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