30 Oct

Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023

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Content

• Introduction
• Supreme Court Verdict and Expansion of the Conservation Function
• Exemptions Provided by the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights Act), 2006
• Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023
• Significance
• Criticism

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Introduction

• The Act came into force on 25th Oct, 1980 and was enacted for the conservation of forests by restricting de-reservation of forest and forest land for non-forest purposes.
  • Section 2 and Section 3 of the act states that such dereservation of the forest and forest land can’t be done without prior approval of the central government under the advice of an advisory committee.
  • Compensatory Afforestation is mandated under the FCA for any diversion of forestland for non-forest purposes.
• The Act also covers
  • Requirement for declaring an area as a protected forest, Wildlife Sanctuary or a national park.
  • Maintenance of water supply in springs, rivers and tanks.
• The act thus conserves country’s forests and facilitate growth of forest biodiversity.

Supreme Court Verdict and Expansion of the Conservation Function:

• In 1996, the Supreme Court in a verdict in TN Godavarman Thirumulpad vs Union of India had expanded the definition and scope of forest land to include all areas recorded as forest in government record, irrespective of ownership, recognition and classification. Before this, the act was primarily applicable to reserve forests and national parks.
• The court expanded the definition of forests to encompass the “dictionary meaning of forests”, which would mean that a forested patch would automatically become a “deemed forest” even if it is not notified as protected, and irrespective of ownership. The order was also interpreted to presume that the act is applicable over plantations in non-forest land.

Exemptions Provided by the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights Act), 2006:

• In this act, certain exemptions to forest clearance for the forest dwelling scheduled tribes and other forest dwelling communities have been provided.
• Section 3 of the act provides that the Central government can provide diversion of forest and for providing certain facilities managed by the government such as for creation of schools, hospitals, anganwadis, fair price shops, roads, electric and telecommunication lines, tanks and other minor water bodies, minor irrigation canals etc.
• This clearance shall be subjected to the condition that the same is recommended by
  Gram Sabha.

Thus, it can be understood that the 2006 Act brings in a balance between conservation of forest rights and protection of rights of forest dwelling communities and even this is achieved only by an elaborate procedure after seeking sanction of various communities.

A) Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023

• Adding of a preamble to the act.
• Changing the name to Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, i.e. Forest
  (Conservation and Augmentation) Act.
• The bill provides that two types of land will be under the purview of the act:
  i. Land declared/notified as a forest under Indian Forest Act, 1927 or under any other law, or
  • Note: The land which has not been notified will not be included under the
    purview of the act.

ii. Land notified as a forest on or after Oct 25, 1980 in a government record.

• • Note: Land which changed from forest use to non-forest use before Dec 12, 1996
    will not be included.

Exempted Category of Land:

Under the 1927 Act, decisions regarding diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes
are taken by the state government. The 1980 act requires additional prior approval from
central government.

• The bill provides that such approval will not be required when forest land is diverted for constructing

i. Strategic Linear Projects (roads, railways) of national importance and concerning national security within 100 km of India’s border.
ii. Security related infrastructure upto 10 hectares,
iii. Defence related projects, a camp for paramilitary forces, or public utility projects as specified by the central government, not exceeding five hectares in a left-wing extremism affected area.

• The bill also exempts certain type of land from the provisions of the act, such as forest land along a rail line or a public road maintenance by the government providing access to a habitation, or to a rail, and roadside amenities upto a maximum size of 0.10 hectare.

Assignment/Leasing of forest land:

• The Original act restricts the de-reservation of forests for use of forest and non-forest purposes. Such restrictions can be lifted only with the prior approval of central government.
  • The act specifies certain activities that will be excluded from non-forest purposes,
    meaning that restrictions on the use of forest land for non-forest purposes will not apply. These activities include works related to the conservation, management, and development of forest and wildlife such as establishing check posts, fire lines, and wireless communication.
• The bill adds more activities to the list such as (i) zoos and safaris under WPA, 1972
  owned by the government or any authority, in forest areas other than protected areas,
  (ii) ecotourism facilities, (iii) silviculture operations (enhancing forest growth), and (iv)
  any other purpose specified by central government.
• Powers to issue directions: The bill adds that the central government may issue directions for the implementation of the act to any authority/organization under or recognized by Centre, State, or UT.

Significance:

• Increase Plantation in non-forest areas: The environment ministry says that the
  application of the act on land covered under dictionary meaning of forests (or deemed
  forests) has resulted in a “declining tendency in plantations in non-forest lands owing to the apprehension among individuals, organizations, and authorities regarding such
  plantations being considered forests”.
• Removal of mandatory central government approval for diversion of forests in certain
  cases is expected to reduce delays in the implementation of strategically important
  projects.

Criticism:

• The amendment by providing blanket exemptions from the act for several types of lands and several types of projects is going contrary to the intent of the 1980 act which was enacted for prevention of de-reservation of forest lands and large scale deforestation.
• Such forest clearance activities will also violate rights of forest dwellers which were
  secured under the 2006 Act.
• The Apex Court in T.N. Godavarman Thirumulkpad v. Union of India (UOI) and Ors (AIR
  1997 SC 1228), has given a wider meaning to forest land to broaden the scope of their
  protection. However, the 2023 bill provides a much narrower interpretation to the term
  forest land by inserting section 1A to encompass only two types of land under its ambit.
• Exemption near border area would cover large parts of the north-eastern region,
  Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and could lead to loss of biodiversity in biodiversity hotspots.
• The purpose of allowing a zoo inside a forest is not clear.
  • Even Supreme Court (2023) has remarked that they don’t appreciate the
    necessity of having a zoo inside tiger reserves or national parks.
  • There is also a lack of clarity on compensatory afforestation for this diverted land. Similarly, it doesn’t provide for how rehabilitation/resettlement/livelihood opportunities etc. would be provided for tribals affected by this kind of diversion.

Conclusion:
The overall tenor of the proposal is to make it a little easier to use forest land for non-forestry purpose. The idea is to balance the development and security needs with the forest conservation needs of India. But while doing so, it should be ensured that long term forest conservation and rights of tribals and forest dwellers are not affected in long run.