Bill to amend Forest (Conservation) Act clears Lok Sabha: objections, concerns around it

Source: The post is based on the article “Bill to amend Forest (Conservation) Act clears Lok Sabha: objections, concerns around it”  published in Livemint on 31st July 2023.

What is the News?

 Lok Sabha has passed the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023.

What is the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023?

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What are the objections raised against the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023?

States objections: The Bill aims to expedite projects of strategic importance, national security, and public utility within 100 km of international borders and in Left Wing Extremism affected areas.

– Himachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh sought clarity on defining ‘National importance and National Security’ and specifying security-related infrastructure and user agencies.

– Mizoram expressed concerns that any linear project could be labeled as of national importance or security, potentially impacting activities in states with international borders. 

– Sikkim objected to the 100 km exemption range, fearing it would affect the entire state and pristine forest areas suggesting a reduction to 2 km.

– The BRO and Arunachal Pradesh wanted the exemption range extended to 150 km to reduce infrastructure differences with China.

Restricting applicability: The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 provides for the conservation of forests by putting certain restrictions on the use of forest land.  

– The Bill amends the Act to cover specific forest lands, and exclude certain forest lands. Land that will be covered under the Act is: (i) land declared/notified as a forest under the Indian Forest Act, 1927 or under any other law; (ii) land recorded as a forest in a government record on or after October 25, 1980.  

– This implies that any land that was recorded as a forest before this date, but not notified as one by the state government, will be excluded from the purview of the Act.  

– The Bill also exempts from its purview forest land that was changed to non-forest purpose on or before December 12, 1996 by any state/UT authority.  

– These exclusions may be going against a Supreme Court judgment in T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad vs. Union of India and others, 1996, on the prevention of deforestation.

Focus on Plantations: The Government had earlier agreed that natural forests, lost from the diversion, cannot be replaced with the plantation. But the proposed Bill encourages plantations in private lands to enhance the carbon sink.