Centre Warns States Over Incomplete Compliance In Illegal Forest Land Use Cases

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has asked all states and Union territories to ensure strict compliance with guidelines on penal compensatory afforestation (PCA) in cases where forest land has been used illegally for non-forestry activities.

In a letter sent to state forest departments, the ministry expressed concern that several states were submitting incomplete compliance reports while seeking the next stage of forest clearance approvals. According to the ministry, many submissions contain only undertakings from the agencies responsible for the violations rather than the detailed documentation required under the guidelines.

Officials said such incomplete compliance submissions are delaying the grant of Stage-II approval , which is the final clearance required for projects involving diversion of forest land. The ministry noted that it often has to seek additional information again before taking a final decision on these proposals.

Penal compensatory afforestation is an environmental penalty imposed when forest land is used without prior approval under the forest conservation law. It requires additional afforestation to be carried out over and above the regular compensatory plantation mandated when forest land is diverted for development projects.

The Centre issued detailed guidelines on January 21, 2026 , specifying how PCA should be imposed in cases involving violations of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 , the law governing diversion and protection of forest land.

Under these rules, the user agency responsible for the violation may be required to provide non-forest land equal to the area of forest land used illegally or deposit an amount equivalent to twice the Net Present Value (NPV) of the diverted forest land. The agency must also bear the entire cost of raising and maintaining plantations for at least ten years under an approved afforestation plan.

Funds collected from such penalties are deposited with the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) , which manages afforestation and forest restoration programmes across the country.

The ministry has now directed states that compliance for all Stage-I approvals granted before January 21, 2026 , where PCA provisions apply, must be submitted only after full implementation of the penal afforestation requirements. It also said that all submissions must include a verification report from the regional office confirming the suitability of the land proposed for plantation.

The same procedure must be followed for cases where Stage-I approval was granted on or after January 21, 2026 , and PCA has been imposed.