The Lok Sabha prepares for a crucial vote on the Forest Protection bill 2023 during the ongoing monsoon session, environmentalists, activists and other stakeholders in the Himalayas are sounding the alarm over the potential ramifications of the bill in its current form.
The key changes proposed to the Forest Conservation Act (FCA) 1980 include the addition of a preamble, renaming the Act as “Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam” limiting its applicability to land recorded as forest in government records and exempting certain categories of land from its scope.
Conservationists argue that limiting the FCA’s applicability to land recorded in government records as forest would effectively invalidate the Supreme Court’s 1996 judgment in the TN Godavarman case, which stated that the law applies to land covered by the “dictionary meaning of forest” or “deemed forests” (forests not officially recorded as forests).
The Ministry of the Environment states that the application of the Act to lands falling under the dictionary meaning of forest (or deemed forest) has resulted in “a declining trend of plantations in non-forest land due to concerns among individuals, organizations and authorities that such plantations are considered forests”.
Amended bill also exempts forest land up to 10 hectares
The amended bill also exempts forest land up to 10 hectares for construction of security-related infrastructure and the area falling within 100 km of international borders, Line of Control (LoC) and Line of Actual Control (LAC) for “strategic and security projects of national importance”.
The Ministry of Environment proposes to exempt forest land up to 5 hectares in areas affected by left-wing extremism from the FCA for the construction of public utility projects such as schools, water facilities and telecommunication services to address the problems faced by residents of these forested areas.
States including Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Mizoram and Assam told the 31-member joint parliamentary committee that reviewed the bill that such a move could potentially involve large areas of their forest land and also affect tribals and other traditional forest-dwelling communities.
Environmentalists say areas in the hilly region near the international borders and LAC/LoC are known for their geological instability and are prone to natural calamities such as heavy rainfall, landslides, flash floods and cloudbursts.
Law’s impact on the rights of indigenous communities and forest-dependent tribes
Experts also raise questions about the law’s impact on the rights of indigenous communities and forest-dependent tribes. The proposed changes could conflict with the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 and the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, which were enacted to protect the rights of these marginalized communities.
Renowned environmentalist Ravi Chopra, former chairman of the Supreme Court-appointed committee on the Char Dham project, warned, “Such bills come at the behest of making strategic or public benefit projects ‘better’. We observe again and again that whether it’s railways or roads or electricity transmission… They require tunnels and tunnels require blasting. And the explosions cause cracks in the mountains. The government will tell you it’s done scientifically, but it’s not. This work is done by a local contractor who just wants to finish the job and move on to the next one. That is why our cities like Joshimath have sunk.”
These exemptions will also be subject to certain conditions, including the payment of compensation fees and tree compensation. It will be mandatory for states to ensure their compliance while considering such projects in the 100-km zone, the ministry said.
An analysis of past approvals for defense projects revealed that a total of 80,408 hectares have been diverted in the last 8 years, with only 2,480 hectares of forest land, a mere 3 percent of the total area diverted, being allocated for defense projects, including roads.
Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023
The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 29 and was referred to the joint committee of both Houses of Parliament on the same day. As per the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 the exemptions to the forest land is sought to be provided in the guise of facilitating social.
The JPC has approved all proposed amendments to the principal Act. In its 201-page report tabled on Thursday, the JPC stated that it received 1,309 memoranda, including comments from experts, state governments, departments, public sector undertakings, ministries, and defense forces, as well as four notes of dissent from opposition members of the committee.
