Forest and wildlife clearances for an industrial project
Who this applies to
- Forest approval is prior permission under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 and the 2023 Rules, for non-forest use of covered forest land.
- Wildlife clearance is a separate recommendation under the Wild Life (Protection) Act and the applicable notification. Forest approval does not include it.
- Look at access roads, transmission lines, pipelines and temporary use, not only the main plot. A revenue description of the land is not conclusive.
Two clearances
Using covered forest land for a non-forest purpose needs prior approval under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 and its Rules. Separately, a project in or affecting a sanctuary, national park, tiger reserve, conservation reserve or notified eco-sensitive zone can need a wildlife recommendation under the Wild Life (Protection) Act. These are different processes: forest approval does not include the wildlife recommendation, and neither is environmental clearance.
The Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rules, 2023 were amended with effect from 20 September 2024 and again in 2025, so read the Rules as amended on the date you file. The Supreme Court is also hearing challenges to the 2023 amendment of the Act. Its interim orders of 3 February 2025 and 4 March 2025 bar steps that reduce forest area, and MoEFCC applies them so that no forest land is diverted without compensatory afforestation.
Do not rely on the revenue description alone. Look at the forest records, the land's legal status, any deemed-forest question, existing rights, and the land the access road, line or pipeline actually crosses.
What it costs to get wrong
Starting non-forest use without the approval the Act requires, or treating a patta entry as proof the land is outside forest, is the breach this page is concerned with. This page does not state a penalty. Work done on a Stage-I approval, where that order does not permit the act, is a serious version of the same mistake.
The process
Map forest status and wildlife boundaries
Collect the land schedules, maps and KML files, forest and tree data, and the layout of the project and its utilities, then map the protected areas and eco-sensitive zones against the same alignment.
File forest diversion through PARIVESH
The 2023 Rules and the consolidated guidelines provide for online processing and staged approval. In-principle approval is not permission to start non-forest use unless the order says so for that particular act; final approval, handing over of the land, and compliance with the conditions, including compensatory afforestation where it applies, are all part of the permission.
File wildlife clearance where the boundary requires it
Wildlife proposals go on PARIVESH through the State wildlife authorities and the State Board for Wildlife and, where required, the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife. Run that file in its own right even if a forest approval is also in progress.
The papers usually include justification and alternatives, cost-benefit material where the guidelines ask for it, rights and compliance records, and wildlife-impact and mitigation material.
Common failure points
- Treating a revenue entry as conclusive.
- Leaving out the road or the line.
- Starting work because Stage-I has been recommended.
- Assuming environmental clearance includes forest or wildlife permission.
Is any part of the site, or its access, on forest or protected land?
Send us the survey numbers and the alignment of roads and lines. We will tell you which of the two clearances has to be tested, and why a patta entry is not the test.