Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in News?
• Forest Conservation Laws in India
• Achievements of the Forest Conservation Act 1980
• Issues in the Forest Conservation Act 1980
• The Key Changes to the Act
• Significance of these Amendments
• What are the Objections to the Changes?
• The Government’s Response

 

Why in News?

• The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill 2023 is likely to be tabled in the monsoon session of Parliament.

 

Forest Conservation Laws in India:

• The Forest Conservation Act 1980 was enacted -
  • To protect India’s forests and
  • Empowers the Central government to regulate the extraction of forest resources (from timber and bamboo to coal and minerals) by industries as well as forest-dwelling communities.
• The Forest Rights Act 2006 protects the rights of tribals and forest-dwellers dependent on forests for their livelihood.
• India’s forest policy (1988) prescribes a third of the country’s geographical area to be under forests.

 

Achievements of the Forest Conservation Act 1980:

• From 1951-1975, about 4 million hectares of forest land has been diverted for various non-forestry purposes.
• From 1980 to 2023, only a million hectares have been diverted - a sign of its impact in reducing the pace of forest appropriation.

 

Issues in the Forest Conservation Act 1980:

• Such protection was only available for areas already marked out as ‘forest’ in Central or State government records.
• A Supreme Court judgement (in the 1996 Godavarman Thirumulpad case) expanded the scope of such protection.
  • Under it, even areas not formally notified as ‘forests’ but conforming to the ‘dictionary’ meaning of forests were protected.
  • As there is no all-encompassing definition of a ‘forest’, the apex court directed States to define and demarcate forests using their own criteria. However, not all States did.
• At present, only 21% is under such cover and it is about 24% if one also accounts for tree cover outside areas under recorded forest, plantations, orchards.
• According to the Environment Ministry, to address these issues the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill seeks to amend the Forest Conservation Act 1980.

 

The Key Changes to the Act:

• Inserting a ‘preamble’: That underlines -
  • India’s commitment to preserving forests, their biodiversity and tackling challenges from climate change and
  • Amending the name of the Act to Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam (translated as Forest Conservation and Augmentation) from the existing Forest (Conservation) Act.
• The Act would only apply to: Lands notified in any government record as ‘forest’ on or after 1980.
• Exemptions: The Act would not apply -
  • If notified, forest land was legally diverted between 1980 and 1996, for non-forest use.
  • To forest land situated 100 km away from international borders and to be used for “strategic projects of national importance” or
  • To land ranging from 5-10 hectares for security and defence projects.

 

Significance of these Amendments:

• It will incentivise private parties who want to develop plantations in degraded forests or restore tree patches.
  • Earlier, a private plantation/ a reforested land that wasn’t officially marked out as forest could be retrospectively earmarked, forcing the developer of such a plantation to lose rights associated with that patch.
  • This was an ‘impediment’ to India’s plans of developing a ‘carbon sink’ of three billion tonnes by 2030 in line with its commitments under the Paris Agreement.
• It will stop States from apportioning forest tracts meant for plantations to companies for mining operations.
• It will craft new solutions beyond the Act’s original intent of only keeping forests from being exploited for industrial uses and to aid reforestation.

 

What are the Objections to the Changes?

• No changes suggested by the JPC: A Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) which was looking at amendments to the Bill has approved the version sent by the government with almost no comment, revisions or suggestions.
• Exemptions could be detrimental: To significant forests in the Himalayan, trans-Himalayan and northeastern regions.
• Dissent against the move to rename the bill: On the grounds that it was “sanskritik terminology and untenable.”
• The Act waters down the Godavarman judgement.
• The amendments tilted the balance towards the Centre. Forest conservation is in the Concurrent List, which means it comes under the domain of both the Centre and States.
• Other objections: Restricting the legislation’s ambit only to areas recorded as forests on or after October 25, 1980 would mean leaving out significant sections of forest land and many biodiversity hotspots.

 

The Government’s Response:

• The Environment Ministry has submitted detailed explanations to the Committee, trying to address concerns that have been raised.
• It emphasises that the new amendments do not dilute the Godavarman judgement and that there are provisions in place to ensure that land will not be “misused.”
• The proposed exemptions are not generic and would be restricted to “specific linear projects of strategic importance” identified by the Central government.
• These exemptions wouldn’t be available to private entities

 

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Q1) What is the difference between the Forest Conservation Act (1980) and the Indian Forest Act 1927?

The Forest (Conservation) Act 1980 came into force to address deforestation. Though the Indian Forest Act 1927 is already in operation, it is more focused on controlling the extraction of timber and not aimed at preserving forests or addressing deforestation.

 

Q2) What is the Environment Protection Act 1986?

The Environment Protection Act 1986 empowers the Central Government to establish authorities charged with the mandate of preventing environmental pollution in all its forms and to tackle specific environmental problems that are peculiar to different parts of the country.

 

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Source: Explained | Why is there a controversy on the forest Bill?