India, May 6 -- Environment authorities have cleared the diversion of 237 hectares of forest land for a highway connecting the under-construction Vadhavan port to National Highway 48 (NH 48), in a move that will shrink green cover in the area and axe almost 30,000 trees.

The decision was taken in a meeting of the regional empowered committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change in Nagpur.

Vadhavan Port is being developed by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) and the Maharashtra Maritime Board in Palghar district. A flagship project of the BJP-led government, it will be India's first offshore port and designed to handle ultra-large container vessels.

But the environmental costs are substantial. Minutes of the ...