Date: 26/08/2022
Relevance: GS-2: Government Policies and Interventions for Development in various sectors and Issues arising out of their Design and Implementation.
Relevance: GS-3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment
Key Phrases: Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, Dereservation, Undemarcated protected forests, Grassland, Union Environment Ministry, Forest clearance, UNFCCC, FAO, Forest department, Deemed forests, Forest cover.
Why in News?
- Chhattisgarh did not seek forest clearance for transferring the land, which the state claims is non-forest land handed over earlier “by mistake” to its Forest department.
Background:
- In March, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister announced in his Budget speech that the state government has transferred over 300 sq km — an area larger than Raipur — in the Bastar region from the Forest department to the Revenue department to ensure easy availability of land for setting up industries and building infrastructure.
- On August 15, in two letters to the Chhattisgarh Chief Secretary and head of the state’s Forest department, the Union Environment Ministry’s asked the state to stop the transfer of land, saying it was in violation of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 and multiple Supreme Court orders, and return the land already transferred.
- The move has now run into a hurdle, even as paperwork is underway for transferring more land in other parts of the state.
Forest Conservation Act, 1980
- It is an act of the Parliament of India to provide for the conservation of forests.
- This law extends to the whole of India.
- It was enacted to control further deforestation of Forest Areas in India.
- It was enacted to put restriction on the dereservation of forests or use of forest land for non-forest purpose.
- Acc. to the act, no state government or other authority shall
make, except with the prior approval of the Central Government, any
order directing:
- That any reserved forest (within the meaning of the expression “reserved forest” in any law for the time being in force in that State) or any portion thereof, shall cease to be reserved.
- That any forest land or any portion thereof may be used for any non-forest purpose.
- That any forest land or any portion thereof may be assigned by way of lease or otherwise to any private person or to any authority, corporation, agency or any other organisation not owned, managed or controlled by Government.
- This act also define‘‘non-forest purpose” means the breaking
up or clearing of any forest land or portion thereof for :
- The cultivation of tea, coffee, spices, rubber, palms, oil-bearing plants, horticulture crops or medicinal plants;
- Any purpose other than reafforestation, but does not include any work relating or ancillary to conservation, development and management of forests and wild-life.
What is the issue?
- Union Environment Ministry raised the concern that the land in question is “undemarcated protected forests”, which cannot be given away without forest clearance.
- Chhattisgarh did not seek forest clearance for transferring the land, which the state claims is non-forest land handed over earlier “by mistake” to its Forest department.
- Chhattisgarh government said that no transfer of protected forest land has been done. Transfer of areas recorded as non-forest land, such as ghas bhumi (grassland), on revenue records is under process.
- Chhattisgarh government said, After the Supreme Court gave a broad definition of forests in 1996, Madhya Pradesh handed over Revenue forests to the Forest department. In that process, some non-forest areas also came under the Forest department, which are now being returned to the Revenue department.
- Chhattisgarh government said, we barely have any land available for development, particularly in the tribal areas. So this is a pragmatic policy to free non-forest land from the Forest department.
- Union Environment Ministry has pointed out that the land cannot be given away without forest clearance and state government has to follow the process specify under Forest Conservation Act, 1980.
Category of forest in India:
- Reserved Forests:
- Reserve forests are the most restricted forests and are constituted by the State Government on any forest land or wasteland which is the property of the Government.
- In reserved forests, local people are prohibited, unless specifically allowed by a Forest Officer in the course of the settlement.
- Protected Forests:
- The State Government is empowered to constitute any land other than reserved forests as protected forests over which the Government has proprietary rights and the power to issue rules regarding the use of such forests.
- This power has been used to establish State control over trees, whose timber, fruit or other non-wood products have revenue-raising potential.
- Protected forests are either demarcated or undemarcated.
- Demarcated are those where limits of the forest have been specified by a formal notification.
- Undemarcated are those where limits of the forest have not been specified by a formal notification.
Forest definition in India
- India’s definition of forest has been taken on the basis of three criteria and very well accepted by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for their reporting/communications.
- As in India, Forest is defined structurally on the basis of
- Crown cover percentage: Tree crown cover- 10 to 30% (India 10%)
- Minimum area of stand: area between 0.05 and 1 hectare (India 1.0 hectare) and
- Minimum height of trees: Potential to reach a minimum height at maturity in situ of 2 to 5 m (India 2m)
- The forest cover is defined as ‘all land, more than one hectare in area, with a tree canopy density of more than 10 percent irrespective of ownership and legal status. Such land may not necessarily be a recorded forest area. It also includes orchards, bamboo and palm’.
- Supreme Court gave a broad definition of forests in 1996. As per the Supreme Court’s definition, any land that is part of the (forest) working plan or under the control of the Forest department is forest land. Irrespective of tree cover, grasslands or rocky surfaces are also forest land.
Conclusion:
- The issue of declassification of deemed forests in the state is not new, but it is a longstanding and contentious one with far-reaching implications on the state’s forest cover.
- Any legal transfer of forest land requires giving back twice the area from Revenue to Forest, if the state declassify deemed forests into non forest land on its own, then the law defeats the purpose to safeguard forest.
Source: Indian Express
Mains Question:
Q. what is the definition of forest in India. Discuss the provision related to diversion of forest land to any non-forest purpose? (250words).
