699 Projects Cleared with Diversion of 393 Hectares of Forest Land in North Andhra
Forest officials said the projects were aimed at improving transportation, communication and drinking water access in remote tribal areas while balancing development needs with forest conservation measures
Visakhapatnam: The Andhra Pradesh Forest Department’s Visakhapatnam Circle cleared 699 infrastructure projects in tribal and agency areas during the financial years 2024-25 and 2025-26 up to February, involving diversion of 393.562 hectares of forest land.
The approvals covered road works, communication towers, Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) projects and drinking water supply schemes in Alluri Sitarama Raju, Parvathipuram Manyam, Srikakulam and Anakapalli divisions.
Road projects accounted for the highest share, with 528 works involving 372.056 hectares of forest land. The department also cleared 132 communication tower projects covering 14.185 hectares, 18 OFC projects involving 3.120 hectares and 21 drinking water supply schemes covering 4.201 hectares.
Chintapalli division in Alluri Sitarama Raju district recorded the highest number of approvals. In 2024-25, 95 works covering 55.206 hectares received clearance, including 73 road projects, 16 communication towers and six OFC works.
During 2025-26 up to February, another 199 works involving 152.299 hectares were approved in the division, including 187 road projects, nine towers and three OFC works. In total, Chintapalli Division accounted for 294 projects covering 207.505 hectares.
Paderu division followed with 226 works involving 93.561 hectares across the two financial years, mainly for roads and communication towers.
Parvathipuram Manyam division recorded 108 projects covering 58.981 hectares. Srikakulam division, which had no approvals in 2024-25, received clearance for 59 projects in 2025-26 up to February, including 38 road works and 21 drinking water schemes.
Anakapalli division received approvals for 12 projects involving 7.521 hectares during 2025-26, mainly for roads and communication infrastructure.
Forest officials said the projects were aimed at improving transportation, communication and drinking water access in remote tribal areas while balancing development needs with forest conservation measures.
