New Delhi, July 26 -- The Union environment ministry has extended the validity of forest clearances, which will now be the same as validity of coal mine leases granted under the Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act, 1957, according to a letter it issued to all states and UTs earlier this month. Earlier the guidelines and rules framed under Van Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan Adhiniyam 1980 (the forest conservation law), forest clearances for coal mine leases could be granted for a maximum period of 30 years. The Chhattisgarh government through a letter dated March 10 sought clarification on the relevant provisions of extension of validity of approvals granted under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rules, 2023 to coal mining projects, according to documents seen by HT. The matter was thereafter discussed by the Forest Advisory Committee of the environment ministry on June 12. The meeting discussed that as per the provisions of the Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act, 1957 and a clarification provided by the ministry of coal in a letter dated May 19, validity of coal mining projects/leases of state-owned companies, acquired under the CBA is perpetual i.e. once the lease is granted it remains valid till the life of the coal mine. The Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act, 1957 provides for the acquisition of land containing or likely to contain coal deposits for government companies only. "Accordingly, the forest clearance would also be valid during the entire life of the mine i.e. till the exhaustion of its mineable minerals reserve irrespective of change lessee," the minutes of the June 12 meeting said. Thereafter in a letter to states, available on Parivesh website, the ministry has said that it is hereby amending the guidelines related to validity of approvals granted to coal mining. The extension will be subject to payment of net present value (NPV). NPV is the valuation or cost of forests diverted determined based on ecological role and value of forests which is graded based on quality and type of forests. NPV payments are made by project proponents to compensate for the losses of forests and their ecosystem services because of infrastructure projects including mining. "Earlier, in cases where substantial forest land was involved, MoEFCC preferred cluster-based mining approach, and a phase-wise clearance process. That allow periodic appraisal. Now, under this new order once FC is granted, it's for the entire life of mine, especially in coal bearing act cases where no lease term is defined. This extension will prevent any phase-wise appraisal. Since there is also a complete lack of monitoring system on ground, which together with extended forest clearance, will give the miner a free run. In case of private companies and MDO operators, it is possible that without exhausting the lower seams, which entail higher cost, they might break fresh forest area because they already have FC for the life of the mine," said Sudiep Shrivastava, anenvironmental lawyer....