MoEF writes off Army dues for using forestland for training

shifting its earlier stand, the Union ministry of environment and forests (moef ) has decided to write off heavy dues from the Indian Army for using forestland for training. The decision to waive the Rs 14,414 crore came in May 2007 after the defence ministry informed moef of its inability to clear the cost.

The army has been using 92 field-firing ranges spread over about 1.6 million hectares of notified forests. Earlier, a moef notification had insisted that states take a 10 per cent