HT interview: Forest act will help improve status of forward areas, says Bhupender Yadav

Elimination of ambiguities will enable the authorities to take prompt decisions on the proposals involving non-forestry use of forest land, Yadav says

New Delhi Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav spoke to HT about the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2023 -- which was cleared by Parliament in the monsoon session -- on the eve of World Elephant Day, which falls on August 12.

Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav says strategic and security-related projects and their information is sensitive in nature and generally not accessible to the public (HT)

Edited excerpts:

At a time when human-elephant conflicts are rising, the question of elephants is linked directly to our forests. Why has the government exempted unrecorded deemed forests from the ambit of the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill?The applicability of the Forest Conservation Act in various types of land has been dynamic -- that is, initially provisions of the Act were being applied to the notified forest land only. Subsequently, after an SC judgement of December 1996, the Act was made applicable to revenue forest land or in lands which were recorded as forest in government records and to areas which look like forest in their dictionary meaning.

Most such land was already put to non-forestry use such as habitations, institutions, roads, etc. with the required approval of the competent authority. This situation resulted in different interpretations of the provisions of the Act with respect to their applicability especially in recorded forest lands, private forest lands, plantations, etc.

The government record for the purpose of the FC Act has been defined in the bill clarifying that all forests, including unclassed forests, recorded in the record of government, forest department local bodies, or authority will also attract the provisions of the Act.

What is strategic infrastructure of national importance that will be exempted in a 100km area from borders? What projects will be allowed in these areas?Strategic infrastructure, primarily linear projects such as roads and railways and establishment of security camps, is very critical for national security and to protect the sovereignty of the country. Such projects located within 100km from the international borders, LAC and LoC will be exempted from the purview of the Act.

Our country has very sensitive and remote border areas with negligible or poor road connectivity. It is very difficult to defend our international borders without adequate infrastructure facilities and connectivity. Therefore, it is very important to provide adequate connectivity and infrastructure to defend our international borders. Better road network in the border areas will minimise the time to reach the sensitive border areas while better infrastructure facilities will ensure protection of border areas throughout the year. Moreover, such facilities will improve the accessibility to the almost inaccessible remote areas.

Besides catering to the strategic needs of the country, these provisions of the bill will also improve the social and economic status of forward areas. Local population from these remote areas is migrating to urban areas for want of basic facilities. Provisions of the bill coupled with our Vibrant Village Programme will bring new avenues of economic as well as social development in these areas. However, these exemptions are under terms and conditions including the compensating of loss of the affected trees for which suitable provisions in the Bill have been brought in.

Will information on these strategic infrastructure projects be made public? How can people access information on these?Strategic and security-related projects and their information is sensitive in nature and generally not accessible to the public. The state governments or Union territories concerned will develop their system of considering approval of such projects as per the guidelines to be issued by the central government. However, in exceptional cases, the information on the use of forest land for such strategic and security related projects will be made available by the central government.

How will the new amendment bill reduce time taken in granting forest clearance? And by how many days?Elimination of ambiguities in the applicability will enable the authorities to take prompt decisions on the proposals involving non-forestry use of forest land. There will be no requirement of prior approval of the central government under the Act for the projects located within 100km from the international borders, LAC, forest land of 0.10 hectares providing connectivity to habitations and roadside establishments, 10 hectares of land for security related infrastructure, and 5 hectares for public utility projects in LWE areas. In such cases, the state government or Union territory will grant approval and thereby shorten the process of approval. The ministry has streamlined the process of approval by notifying the Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2022 on June 28, 2023, wherein the entire process has been made end-to-end online. All these initiatives together will substantially reduce the time taken in the process of approval envisaged in the Act.

What is your vision for improving agroforestry in India? How will that impact wild species like elephants? Which tree species will be encouraged?Agroforestry close to wildlife habitats can provide significant habitat for elephants and other wildlife species if well-planned. Raising plantations outside forests can also provide economic benefits to local people. Similarly, afforesting areas lost to mines and major infrastructure projects can also help in creating habitats for wildlife. Further, in corridor areas where elephants are expected to move without causing conflict, tree species not preferred by elephants in agroforestry can create a win-win situation.

There were apprehensions that plantations on the lands of individuals and organisations can attract FCA. Therefore, clarity has been provided in the bill that provisions of the FC Act will not be applicable in the private lands which will encourage plantation in private lands thereby helping the country to increase the area under green cover, enhancing the carbon sink and reducing the biotic pressure on forests. In addition to these, it will also help in making our country Atmanirbhar by generating additional income to our farmers while simultaneously reducing the wood import Bills of the country.

Why did you decide on exempting Ayush companies and practitioners from access and benefit sharing? How will this benefit industries?The biological diversity amendment bill provides exemption from access and benefit sharing to users of Codified Traditional Knowledge, cultivated medicinal plants as well as Ayush practitioners.

The exemption to the users of the Codified Traditional Knowledge which may include industries will help in the expansion and reach of Ayurveda/Indian system of medicine.

The exemption to cultivated medicinal plants from access and benefit sharing will help encourage locals to take up the cultivation of medicinal plants which then may be accessed in hassle-free manner by industries in making products, thereby improving the income of both individual cultivation as well as companies or industries while expanding the reach of Indian system of medicine. This will in turn encourage more investments in Ayurveda/Indian system of medicine.

Some states are facing a massive problem of human-elephant conflict. How do you plan to address this?The human-elephant conflict has been an issue facing mankind since historic times. India houses about 60% of all Asian elephants. Over the last nine years, the number of elephant reserves has risen. The successes in elephant conservation must be viewed in context of the larger efforts underway in India to minimise human-animal conflict, and integrating local communities and their traditional wisdom in furthering environmental consciousness. The government believes general public awareness is a key to minimise conflict.

Elephant is a long-ranging landscape animal that moves across habitats and occasionally enters human habitation causing considerable loss to farmers and local communities. To compensate their loss, financial assistance is being provided to local communities for loss of their property and life caused by elephants. Elephant corridors are being revalidated with an aim of removing hindrances. Elephant habitats are being consolidated and declared as Elephant Reserves. In the last three years, three Elephant Reserves have been declared and the areas increased from 74,512 sq.km to 80,778 sq.km.

How will you address elephant deaths due to linear infrastructure like railways?We are constantly working with the ministry of railways and state forest departments to minimise the impact of existing railway lines on elephant and other wildlife.

Recently, 110 critical points on an 1,800km stretch on existing railway network across the country have been identified. These have been submitted to the railway ministry for undertaking mitigation strategies like underpasses, overpasses, imposing speed restrictions, creating level crossings and ramps to facilitate elephant movement and developing technological interventions to better detect elephants along the railway tracks.

Technological intervention such as Intrusion Detection System using optical fibre cable technology, detecting animal movement using the seismic sensors and infrared thermal cameras are being piloted in West Bengal and Uttarakhand.

Why do you plan to merge Project Elephant with Project Tiger? How will it help these programmes?Project Tiger (PT) and Project Elephant (PE) are the major flagship species conservation programmes of the Government of India. Let me clarify that the projects are not being merged, only the Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) have been merged.

Project Elephant and Project Tiger were sub schemes under Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats. During the Expenditure Finance Committee meeting which was further approved by the Cabinet, it was decided that the sub scheme of CSS- PE should be merged with CSS –PT. The merger of the schemes facilitates better allocation of resources, synergy in activities and also allows the managers to adopt a focused approach in conserving both the species.