India, May 11 -- The Maharashtra state government has granted final approval for the diversion of reserved forest land in four tehsils of Pune district--Indapur, Daund, Shirur and Purandar. A Government Resolution (GR) formalising the decision was issued on May 9.

The diversion was mainly proposed for district and state highway construction or extension purposes. The conditions for the approval included compensatory afforestation, alternative land transfer to the forest department, and also obtaining necessary wildlife permission from the competent authority if required, said officials.

Deepak Pawar, assistant conservator of forest, Pune division, said,"I have not received the order copy yet. We will share more details after checking th...