The Union environment ministry’s Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) has granted in-principle approval for the diversion of over 3,000 hectares of forest land across several states for key infrastructure projects, including hydropower in Arunachal Pradesh, a coal mine in Chhattisgarh, and iron ore mining in Goa and Odisha, according to minutes of the committee’s meeting held on May 8. FAC clears key infra projects, grants nod for diversion of 3K hectares of forest land The FAC granted in-principle approval for diversion of 261.53 hectares of unclassed forest land for the 680 MW Attunli Hydroelectric Project on the Talo (Tangon) river in Dibang Valley, Arunachal Pradesh. The project, located in the Dibang Sub-basin of the Brahmaputra river valley, involves the felling of 47,243 trees. Compensatory afforestation has been proposed over 523.762 hectares of degraded forest land in West Kameng district. A sub-committee that visited the site in October last year — on directions of the FAC’s May 2024 meeting — recommended approval subject to conditions. These include requirements that quarry sites be treated as mining proposals with …