New Delhi, Feb. 6 -- The Union environment ministry has clarified that all underground works in forest land linked to linear, irrigation, hydel, and other development projects should be considered equivalent to underground mining, which is an environmentally-friendly activity and exempt from compensatory afforestation. The clarification was issued in response to a request from the Rajasthan government, which enquired about the applicability of compensatory afforestation for tunnels constructed as part of water resource development projects. Tunnel construction is environmentally friendly because it does not disrupt surface flora, fauna or ecological regimes, said the ministry. The ministry's guidelines from April 17, 2018, already consider ...