Forest bill provisions belie govt’s claim

That it was passed without debate and disregarding MPs, experts is worrying.

The passage of the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill by the Lok Sabha last week has caused genuine fears that a legislation, which in name seeks to protect forests, would actually harm them. The worries are both at conceptual and practical levels. The Forest Conservation Act, 1980 (FCA), had sought to extend protection to all lands classified as forests in government records. But a Supreme Court ruling in 1996 extended the ambit of the law to all lands that satisfied “the dictionary definition of a forest.” This helped in maintaining many wooded areas which were not defined as forests in government records to be protected as forests. The amendment goes back to the original definition of forests and therefore large tracts of land could lose legal protection. It is estimated that about 28% of forests as per the Forest Survey of India’s data might go out of the purview of the law. Compensatory afforestation is proposed in place of lost forests. But it is well-known that afforestation does not work in practice, and sometimes ends up doing more harm than good.

Also Read | Ministry violated rules in pushing forest bill: Activists

The bill also dispenses with the need for prior clearance in cases where forest land is situated within 100 km of an international border, Line of Control or Line of Actual Control, and will be used for “construction of roads, railway lines or projects of strategic nature.” Large tracts of land in the ecologically sensitive North-East region will fall under this category. The exemptions will also apply to areas affected by left-wing extremism. The country’s security is very important but a blanket exemption from any regulatory mechanism for construction activities may be misused. The ecological fragility of the border areas makes deliberations on such projects particularly necessary before they are undertaken. It should be noted that the Maoist-affected areas are the country’s most mineral-rich areas, and the exemption can be used for deforestation and commercial exploitation of the areas for mining and industrial activities.

There are other concerns also. The bill was referred to a joint select committee after it was introduced in the Lok Sabha in March. The committee did not propose any changes, but six Opposition members dissented and sought environmental audits and consultation with state governments on the use of forest land in ecologically-sensitive areas. Last week 400 ecologists, scientists and naturalists wrote a letter to the government and MPs which said that the legislation would hasten the decline of the country’s natural forests. Preservation and protection of forests is vital, especially at a time of climate change. The contentious bill was passed without a discussion in parliament. The bill claims that it will help to increase the forest cover, but its provisions belie the claim.