{"id":254475,"date":"2023-08-02T21:09:43","date_gmt":"2023-08-02T15:39:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=254475"},"modified":"2023-08-29T17:02:51","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T11:32:51","slug":"forest-law-amendments-rich-in-rhetoric-poor-in-substance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/forest-law-amendments-rich-in-rhetoric-poor-in-substance\/","title":{"rendered":"Forest law amendments: Rich in rhetoric, poor in substance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Source<\/strong>– The post is based on the article \u201cForest law amendments: Rich in rhetoric, poor in substance\u201d <\/strong>published in \u201cThe Indian Express\u201d <\/strong>on 2nd August 2023<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Syllabus: <\/strong>GS 3 \u2013 Environmental Conservation<\/p>\n

News <\/strong>– The government is introducing the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill 2023.<\/p>\n

What led to the introduction of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It originated in the belief that state governments were very liberal in diversing forest land for non-forest activities<\/strong>, particularly for cultivation.<\/p>\n

The 42nd constitutional amendment <\/strong>brought forests into the concurrent list. It enabled the passing of a central Act .<\/p>\n

The Forest Conservation Act, 1980 (FCA) <\/strong>was introduced due to concerns that state governments were excessively allocating forest land for non-forest purposes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It mandated that states should seek approval from the central government before diverting forests for non-forest activities.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What was the effectiveness of FCA in reductions of forest diversion?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In the beginning, there was a notable decrease in diversions<\/strong>. However, after 1991, the pressure to permit diversions for development projects<\/strong> grew. Only diversions for agriculture <\/strong>were restricted.<\/p>\n

Despite this, the regulatory process<\/strong> did have some impact in slowing down diversions.<\/p>\n

The compensatory afforestation requirement<\/strong>, while seeming significant, often resulted in failed plantations.<\/p>\n

What was the stand of SC ON forest conservation and its impacts?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In 1996, the Supreme Court, in the TN Godavarman case<\/strong>, raised concerns about the consistent application of the Forest Conservation Act<\/strong> to all forested areas.<\/p>\n

There were regions across the country where land covered by natural forests had not been officially classified as “forest” under any law<\/strong>. It led to unregulated diversion <\/strong>without FCA oversight.<\/p>\n

The Court ruled that the actual vegetation present on the land should determine the applicability of the FCA<\/strong>. This decision led to the establishment of a new legal category known as “deemed forest” land.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What is the effectiveness of the Forest Rights Act in 2006 in forest conservation?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Forest Rights Act in 2006 provided rights over the forests to the local community<\/strong>. In the Niyamgiri case<\/strong> in 2013, the Supreme Court affirmed the local community\u2019s right.<\/p>\n

However, the development lobby <\/strong>has consistently opposed such regulations. Since 2014, there has been a concerted effort to weaken the Forest Conservation Act (FCA)<\/strong> and other environmental regulations significantly.<\/p>\n

A narrative emphasizing “delays in clearances”<\/strong> was constructed to exert pressure. The absence of clear thresholds or criteria in the FCA regarding permissible diversions was exploited opportunistically.<\/p>\n

The Forest Advisory Committee<\/strong> was openly influenced to prioritize developmental and national security <\/strong>concerns above all else. Despite the Niyamgiri judgment,<\/strong> consent from local rights-holders was frequently disregarded.<\/p>\n

In many instances, district collectors allegedly certified the absence of community rights<\/strong>, even when the process of community rights <\/strong>recognition under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) had not been initiated.<\/p>\n

Moreover, “linear projects”<\/strong> like railways and highways were exempted from obtaining community consent by the Environment Ministry.<\/p>\n

What are the issues with FCA Amendment Bill 2023?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

One amendment restricts the scope once again to land that is officially “recorded as forest,” <\/strong>effectively. It nullifies the impact of the Godavarman order<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Another amendment grants complete exemption for “linear projects”<\/strong> categorized as “strategic projects of national importance and concerning national security”<\/strong> within 100 kilometers of the national border.<\/p>\n

Almost anything can be labeled as “strategic” and of “national importance.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

A third amendment exempts security camps<\/strong> in districts affected by Maoist insurgency, despite the emerging issue of deforestation <\/strong>caused by such camps in the Bastar region.<\/p>\n

A fourth amendment categorizes the establishment of zoos and safaris<\/strong> as still falling under a forestry purpose.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source– The post is based on the article \u201cForest law amendments: Rich in rhetoric, poor in substance\u201d published in \u201cThe Indian Express\u201d on 2nd August 2023. Syllabus: GS 3 \u2013 Environmental Conservation News – The government is introducing the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill 2023. What led to the introduction of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980?… Continue reading Forest law amendments: Rich in rhetoric, poor in substance<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[59,216,10496],"class_list":["post-254475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-environment","tag-gs-paper-3","tag-times-of-india","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":2,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1699123607},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254475\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}