Himachal CM seeks power for diversion for forest land

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Saturday met Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar here and sought special powers for the state to allow diversion of forest land up to five hectares for development projects.

He said being a hill state, vast land in Himachal came under forests and delay in clearances from the Central government often acted as hindrance in the pace of completion of projects, an official statement said.

"If this power is granted to the state, it will help executing developmental projects speedily," Thakur said.

He also told Javadekar that Himachal Pradesh fell under the jurisdiction of his Ministry's regional office in Dehradun in Uttarakhand, which created delay.

He requested the Minister to change the state's jurisdiction to Chandigarh, which was comparatively nearer and easier to approach. IANS