Criteria tweak ‘cuts’ Assam forest by 99%

NEW DELHI: A retired forest official has flagged how Assam’s restrictive technical criteria to define what is a forest led to 99% of acknowledged woodland — roughly 1,153 of 1,168 hectares --- in Dima Hasao region to be stripped of forest safeguards.The dramatic reduction, detailed in a February Central Empowered Committee report, occurred despite state authorities acknowledging the area consists of “unclassed state forest” with 20% to 70% tree cover that “falls within the definition of forest as per the order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.”The revelation comes amid growing concerns about states undermining Supreme Court orders through narrow definitions. Earlier this week, Haryana redefined the “dictionary meaning” of forest with criteria that environmental activists say could exclude most of the state’s remaining Aravalli forests from legal protection.The Assam controversy relates to a project in Dima Hasao, a hill district characterised by rugged mountainous terrain and significant natural forest cover. The region is part of the North Cachar Hills, falling within a biodiversity-rich landscape.The Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court, while probing an application by a cement company to refund money paid for forest clearance formalities, found that the firm contended that seven new limestone mining blocks adjacent to its existing mine in Dima Hasao did not require forest clearance. The company had paid ₹56.85 crores in compensatory afforestation costs, net present value, tree operation costs and other fees for clearing its original site as part of environment protection regulations.After plotting coordinates on the environment ministry’s Decision Support System, the company found none of the proposed new blocks were classified as recorded forest land. Concluding it had unnecessarily obtained forest clearance for its earlier mine, the company sought a full refund of all charges paid, along with accrued interest.Restrictive 2022 definition appliedAt the heart of these claims is Rule 2(1)(e)(iii) of the Assam Trees Outside Forest (Sustainable Management) Rule, 2022, which states that an area qualifies as forest only if it constitutes “a continuous patch of 10 hectares or more having not less than 200 naturally grown trees per hectare on an average,” alongside reserved forests and officially recorded forest areas.When the CEC visited the site in September, 2024 and asked Assam for its state expert committee report on deemed forests — as required under the 1996 TN Godavarman Supreme Court order — the state government failed to produce one. Earlier that year, the Supreme Court had ordered states to classify forests as per the “dictionary meaning” of the word, a ruling that meant states had to follow broad, common-sense interpretation of the word forests.Instead, special chief secretary (forests) MK Yadava and other officials proposed using the 2022 definition.The entire 1,168-hectare patch of unclassed forest covering six mine areas was then surveyed using drones, with only 14.53 hectares meeting the restrictive tree-counting criteria. “Therefore, the CEC has given its finding/order that except for the 14.53 ha is a forest the rest of the area, i.e. 1,153 ha is not a forest and can be used for mining without having to obtain forest clearance,” the former forest official told HT, asking not to be named.Special chief secretary Yadava confirmed to HT that the 2022 rules will now be applied statewide to classify forests, and thus, environmental protections. “A new state expert committee will identify deemed forest areas based on the trees outside forest rules and revenue records,” Yadava said, adding that the definition applies statewide.The case exposes stark contradictions in official positions. Both the divisional forest officer and the secretary of environment & forest department told the CEC that the mining area “falls within the definition of Forest as per the order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India” and consists of “Unclassed State Forest” under the Dima Hasao Division (West) in Haflong.However, despite this acknowledgment in a June 14, 2024 response, “no documents pertaining to Unclassed State Forest were submitted by either the Forest Department or the Applicant,” the Central Empowered Committee noted.The committee then ultimately concluded that except for 14.53 hectares, “the rest of the area, i.e. 1153 ha is not a forest and can be used for mining without having to obtain forest clearance,” according to the retired forest official who analysed the case.Forest analyst Chetan Agarwal said Assam’s approach reflects a troubling pattern across states. “Assam has proposed a threshold of 200 trees per hectare for identifying deemed forests. This is a high threshold particularly as small trees are sometimes not treated as a ‘tree’ while counting trees for such purposes as a matter of practice of enumeration from a timber perspective.”He noted that the threshold “may not be met by much of the officially notified forests either and is meant primarily to exclude all but the most dense forest cover with many young trees. As they mature, the stems per ha reduce over time.”Agarwal drew parallels with other states: “Recently Haryana too has come up with an extraordinarily high minimum level of 40% forest canopy cover for an area to be treated as a deemed forest. This threshold too will not be met by most of the notified forests in the state either, let alone the potential deemed forest.”The December 12, 1996 Godavarman judgment defined forests broadly as any area fitting the “dictionary meaning” regardless of official classification or ownership, directing states to form expert committees within a month to identify such areas.The Forest Conservation Amendment Act, 2023, notably does not recognise “unrecorded deemed forests” as a protected category, with the objective of reviewing and limiting the Supreme Court’s 1996 verdict. Eleven retired government officials and environmental activists successfully challenged this amendment, leading to an interim order reaffirming the broad dictionary definition.The Central Empowered Committee denied the cement company’s ₹56.85 crore refund request, ruling that since substantial vegetation had already been removed from the earlier mining area, it was impossible to determine the original forest status when the lease was granted years earlier.

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Criteria tweak ‘cuts’ Assam forest by 99%

A retired official said Assam's restrictive forest criteria led to 99% of woodland in Dima Hasao losing protections, sparking concerns over state definitions

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Criteria tweak ‘cuts’ Assam forest by 99%

A retired official said Assam's restrictive forest criteria led to 99% of woodland in Dima Hasao losing protections, sparking concerns over state definitions