Joint panel approves controversial forest law

Lawmakers on Thursday put their stamp of approval on a controversial draft law on forest conservation, while accepting the Union Environment and Forest Ministry’s submissions that there will neither be any violation of a landmark Supreme Court judgement on “un-classified forest” nor any misuse as safeguards have been kept in the bill.

The Forest Conservation (Amendment) bill, 2023 with a preamble highlighting the need to increase India’s carbon stock for the 2070 net zero target, was approved by a Joint Committee of the Parliament that tabled its report in both Houses. The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 29 and referred to the panel of MPs on the same day.

Following extensive consultations with states, multiple agencies, ministries as well as critics, the 31-member committee accepted the bill as it is after the green ministry gave detailed explanation on each of the contentious points.

For instance, one of the controversial clauses in the bill was an exemption from forest clearance to defence projects within 100 km of the international border, which will cover the entire north east and large areas in Uttarakhand or Himachal Pradesh.

Such exemptions, according to the ministry, are not generic in nature and will be accorded to “specific linear projects of strategic importance”. The relaxations will not be available to private entities and use of the exemptions will be need based.

The officials pointed out in the last eight years, more than 80,400 ha of land was diverted for defence projects, of which only 2,480 ha were forest land. This comes to only 3% of the total area diverted.

The bill, says the ministry, will help improve the green cover by clearing ambiguities on what type of forests will be recognised under the law. This may help spur more agroforestry, plantation and community participation in growing forest.

According to the ministry since the 1996 SC ruling that extends protection to “all areas that conform to dictionary meaning of forest”, there is a misconception that if there is a green patch and if a private person plants a forest, then it will attract the provisions of the Forest Conservation Act.

Due to this reason many people had given up agro-forestry and there was a declining tendency of undertaking plantations in non-forest lands, officials said.

Such a misconception is a hindrance to enhance the green cover to fulfil India’s NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution) target of creating an additional sink of 2.5-3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2030 to tackle the consequences of climate change.

“Since these misconceptions will be cleared (in the new law), the concept of agroforestry will be more stable and people will be attracted towards it. Our area of ‘tree outside the forest’ will grow,” the ministry officials said in their submissions before the panel.

The draft bill attracted severe criticism from environmentalists, think tanks and tribal leaders who charged the ministry for drafting a law that has potential to ruin India’s green cover. Following the controversy, the government sent the bill to a House panel for a review.