House panel clears report on forest bill

The Joint Committee of Parliament has approved and adopted its report on the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023.

The Joint Committee of Parliament has approved and adopted its report on the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023, which is likely to be tabled in Parliament in the upcoming monsoon session, set to begin on July 20, people familiar with the development said.

The bill proposes to modify the Forest (Conservation) Act.

Objections and suggestions, including notes of dissent submitted by opposition lawmakers, have been taken on record and are likely to be annexed with the panel’s report, the people said.

The bill — which proposes to modify the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 — has a number of controversial clauses and the same have been opposed by several environmental and legal experts and also by members of parliament from opposition parties. HT reported on Monday that four opposition MPs had submitted notes of dissent.

“The report has been approved in our final meeting held on Tuesday. We cannot divulge details of the proceedings of the meeting,” an opposition lawmaker said, requesting anonymity. “The objections including notes of dissent are all on record. It remains to be seen whether these critical issues flagged by several expert bodies and people are discussed or not.”

The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023 was introduced in the Lok Sabha in March and subsequently referred to the Joint Committee of Parliament. The panel invited public suggestions on the bill on May 3.

As per draft notes of dissent, seen by HT, the concerns have been raised on several clauses. One of the major issues flagged is what should encompass forests. The bill proposes to cover exclusively lands that have been declared or notified as a forest under the Indian Forest Act, 1927, or under any other law.

It also seeks to recognise only forest lands that were recorded as forests as on or after October 25, 1980. Opposition parties have, however, recommended that forests include land that has been declared or notified or is under the process of being notified as a forest following the provisions of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 or under any other law for the time being in force; land recorded as forest irrespective of their ownership; forests protected by local or tribal communities; and also land used for compensatory afforestation in lieu of forests that are diverted for any infrastructure projects.

One of the proposed clauses exempts prior clearance for strategic developmental projects of national importance on forest land situated within 100km along international borders. Almost all of the Northeast falls in this category. But, MPs have recommended that the bill should cover a specific strategically sensitive area, such as certain Himalayan ranges, and not the entire country.

The amendment bill also exempts from seeking prior forest clearance, strip forests (up to 0.10 hectares or ha) situated alongside a rail line or a public road maintained by the government; tree plantations on private lands that are not categorised as forests; up to 5 ha area proposed to be used for construction of defence related or public utility projects in a Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected area. In the case of public utility projects, MPs have recommended that the draft bill should state clearly that these lands shall be directly under the government.

They cannot be privatised, leased or handed over to any private entity. The concerns raised are similar for opposition MPs, including those who have dissented verbally. They are also opposed to the new proposed name of the act — Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam.

There are 31 members in the joint committee of parliament, of which opposition members include Jawhar Sircar and Sajda Ahmed from the Trinamool Congress, Kotagiri Sridhar from YSR Congress Party, R Girirajan from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Pradyut Bordoloi from the Congress, among others.

Certain provisions of the bill could jeopardise vast tracts of ecologically important forests and leave out several so-called unclassed forests that cover around 15% of India’s total forest cover, a report by a high-level working group constituted by Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy on the bill said in May.

Unclassed forests are recorded as forests but not included in the reserved or protected forests category. The ownership of such forests varies from state to state, according to the Forest Survey of India.

A major concern flagged by forest rights groups is that proposed amendments in the bill are likely to adversely affect the protection accorded to Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs) under the FRA because if the land falls outside the scope of the FCA, it effectively eliminates the requirement of obtaining consent from the gram sabha for diversion of that land. The FRA provides for recognition of the forest rights of the STs and OTFDs, and by doing so, it intends to undo the historic injustice these communities have faced because of the denial of their forest rights.