Ask a forest department officer why a file is sitting still and the answer is usually one of two things: the forest diversion proposal is internally inconsistent, or the Forest Rights Act documents are missing or stale. Both are the user agency's to fix, and both are avoidable.
What a forest diversion proposal is
"Forest diversion proposal", or FDP, is the working name for the complete submission a user agency makes to divert forest land to a non-forest purpose. It is not a single form. It is a bundle that has to agree with itself at every point.
| Component | What it contains |
|---|---|
| Application | Form-A, served through the common application form on PARIVESH: project, purpose, cost, justification and the alternatives examined |
| Land schedule | Village, survey number and area for every parcel, totalling to the area claimed |
| Map set | Toposheet extract, division and range map, cadastral and revenue map overlay, digitised and mosaiced plan, and the KML |
| Survey data | DGPS coordinates of the boundary points, and the alignment with chainage for a linear project |
| Enumeration | Trees by species, girth class and number, keyed to a map |
| Compensatory afforestation | The proposed non-forest land with its own KML, title, suitability certificate and planting scheme |
| Cost–benefit analysis | The value of what is lost against what the project delivers |
| FRA compliance | Gram Sabha resolution and the district-level certificate |
| Certificates and undertakings | No alternative alignment, no work commenced, land to be used only for the approved purpose, and the cost undertakings |
One number, everywhere
The area in the form, the area in the KML, the area in the land schedule and the area the DFO measures on site all have to be the same figure to three decimals. More proposals are returned over this than over anything else in the bundle.
Category A and Category B
You will hear proposals described as Category A or Category B. Strictly those labels belong to the environmental clearance system under the EIA Notification, 2006, where Category A is appraised centrally and Category B at State level. In forest clearance conversation they get borrowed as shorthand for "goes to Delhi" versus "decided regionally", with 40 hectares as the rough dividing line.
What actually decides your route is the area and the project category under the forest rules — up to 5 hectares with the Regional Office head, above 5 and up to 40 with the Regional Empowered Committee, above 40 with the Forest Advisory Committee advising the Centre, and mining, hydel and encroachment cases routed separately whatever the area. The full table is on our forest clearance page.
The joint inspection
After the proposal is filed, the Divisional Forest Officer inspects the site. This is the step where a paper proposal meets the ground, and where discrepancies surface.
- Before the visitHave the boundary demarcated on site with visible markers that match the KML. An officer who cannot find your boundary cannot certify your area.
- Enumeration checkThe DFO verifies the tree count. If your enumeration was done casually, this is where it is caught, and the correction restarts parts of the scrutiny.
- The reportThe DFO reports on the forest, the wildlife value, the alternatives and the suitability of the compensatory afforestation land, and recommends.
- Attend itSend someone who knows the file. Questions answered on site do not become written queries later.
Forest Rights Act compliance
The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 — the FRA — recognises the rights of forest-dwelling communities over forest land. Before forest land is diverted, the process requires that those rights be settled, and that the affected Gram Sabhas have been consulted, in the cases prescribed.
What the file needs
- A resolution of each affected Gram Sabha, passed in a properly convened meeting with quorum
- Consent where the case requires consent, as distinct from consultation
- A certificate from the District Collector or the authority prescribed in the State, confirming that the rights settlement process is complete and recording the Gram Sabha's view
- Records of the claims settled, rejected or pending over the land in question
Where it goes wrong
- Quorum. A resolution passed in a thinly attended meeting is challenged later, sometimes years later, and the clearance with it.
- The wrong Gram Sabha. The affected villages are the ones whose people use the land, which is not always the village the survey number sits in.
- Age. A certificate obtained early in a long project can be treated as stale by the time the proposal is appraised.
- Treating it as a formality. It is the part of the file most likely to be litigated. A resolution obtained properly is the project's protection, not an obstacle to it.
Whether FRA compliance is required, and in what form, depends on the State and the category of the case. Confirm the position for your proposal rather than assuming either way.
Cost–benefit analysis
The proposal has to set the value of the forest being lost against what the project delivers. It is usually treated as a formality and written thinly, which is a missed opportunity: an appraising authority reading a well-argued cost–benefit section has a reason to approve that it can point to. Ours covers the ecological value of the area diverted, the mitigation proposed, and the public benefit of the project in terms the file can carry.
What we do on this
We prepare the whole diversion proposal — survey, maps, KML, enumeration, compensatory afforestation land, Form-A and the DPR — and we handle the Gram Sabha facilitation and the certificate where the case needs it. We also pick up proposals that were filed by someone else and have stalled, which usually means rebuilding the map set so the numbers agree.
See the full scope of work, or check your boundary free before you commit to anything.
Frequently asked questions
What is a forest diversion proposal (FDP)?
It is the complete submission a user agency makes to divert forest land to a non-forest purpose: the Form-A application, the land schedule, the map set and KML, the DGPS survey data, the tree enumeration, the compensatory afforestation land and scheme, the cost-benefit analysis, the Forest Rights Act documents, and the certificates and undertakings.
It is filed and processed on the PARIVESH portal.
What is an FRA NOC in forest clearance?
It is the documentation showing that rights under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 over the land have been settled and the affected Gram Sabhas consulted — typically a Gram Sabha resolution plus a certificate from the District Collector or the authority the State prescribes.
Whether it is required, and in what form, depends on the State and the category of the case.
Who passes the Gram Sabha resolution?
The Gram Sabha of each affected village, in a properly convened meeting with quorum. The affected villages are those whose people use the land, which is not always only the village the survey number falls in. A resolution passed without proper quorum is the single most common ground on which a clearance is later challenged.
What happens at the joint inspection?
The Divisional Forest Officer visits the site, verifies the boundary against the proposal, checks the tree enumeration, assesses the forest and wildlife value and the alternatives, and files a report with a recommendation. Demarcate the boundary before the visit and send someone who knows the file.
Is a cost-benefit analysis required?
It is part of the proposal. It sets the value of the forest being diverted against what the project delivers. It is usually written thinly as a formality, which is a wasted opportunity — the appraising authority reads it.
Can you take over a proposal someone else filed?
Yes, and a good share of our work is exactly that. A stalled proposal usually needs the map set and the area figures rebuilt so the form, the KML and the land schedule agree, and then the outstanding queries answered in one complete reply.
Tell us what your project touches
Send the alignment, the survey numbers or a KML. We will tell you whether forest land is involved and what the proposal will take.
This page is general information, not legal advice, and the rules change. Check the current position for your case on parivesh.nic.in and forestsclearance.nic.in, or ask us. Last reviewed 2026-10-17.