FOREST CONSERVATION AMENDMENT BILL 2023
WHY IN NEWS ?
- The north-east region of the country has raised concerns over the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023 (FCAB) which was introduced in Lok Sabha in March and was referred to a select committee of the Parliament.
KEY PROVISIONS OF THE BILL:
- Restrictions on activities in forest: The Act restricts the de-reservation of forest or use of forest land for non-forest purposes.
- Such restrictions may be lifted with the prior approval of the central government.
- Non-forest purposes include use of land for cultivating horticultural crops or for any purpose other than reafforestation.
- The Act specifies certain activities that will be excluded from non-forest purposes, i.e., the restrictions on de-reservation of forest or use of forest land for non-forest purposes will not apply.
- These activities include works related to the conservation, management, and development of forest and wildlife such as establishing check posts, fire lines, fencing, and wireless communication.
- Land under the purview of the Act: The Bill provides that two types of land will be under the purview of the Act:
- (i) land declared/notified as a forest under the Indian Forest Act, 1927 or under any other law,
- (ii) land not covered in the first category but notified as a forest on or after October 25, 1980 in a government record.
- Assigning of land through a lease or otherwise: Under the Act, state government or any authority requires prior approval of the central government to direct the assigning of forest land through a lease or otherwise to any organisation (such as private person, agency, authority, corporation) not owned by the government.
- Power to issue directions: The Bill adds that the central government may issue directions for the implementation of the Act to any other authority/ organisation under or recognised by the centre, state, or union territory.
ISSUES WITH THE BILL :
- As per the provisions proposed under the Bill, many categories of land in the highly sensitive states of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Manipur will lose their protective cover as the stringent regulations that were protecting these areas from commercial abuse could get diluted once the Bill is passed.
- Critics argue that the terms like ‘proposed’, ‘ecotourism facilities’, and ‘any other purposes’ can be exploited or misused for activities damaging forests and ecosystems in forest lands.
- With the amendments, all those forest lands which do not fall in the reserved area but are available in government records before 1980 will not come under the purview of the Act.
SYLLABUS: PRELIMS, INDIAN POLITY