The environment ministry has denied the charge that the changes dilute various protections in the law. The Bill is ready for introduction in the coming monsoon session of Parliament.
The Bill seeks to amend the pivotal 1980 law which was enacted to ensure that India’s forest land is not wantonly usurped for non-forestry purposes. Generally speaking, the Bill exempts certain types of forest land from the protection afforded by the Act. It also expands the list of activities that can be carried out on forest land.
Both these aspects have drawn an outcry from conservationists and environmentalists, who say that the amendment opens the doors for commercial exploitation of lands that were hitherto protected under this Act.
One of the objections to the Bill is that it dilutes the Supreme Court’s 1996 judgment in the Godavarman case that extended protection to wide tracts of forests, even if they were not recorded as forests. The Environment Ministry has refuted this point and argued that provisions in the Bill guarded against such situations.
Construction of highways, hydel power projects and other such projects in geographically sensitive areas within 100 km of international borders or the Line of Control will no longer require a forest clearance, an amendment that was “deeply problematic”, a member noted. The Environment Ministry responded that such exemptions were not “generic” and were unavailable to private entities.
There was also opposition from several environmental groups who said that the amendments removed Central protection from vast tracts of so-called ‘deemed forest’ (forested areas not officially recorded as ‘forests’) and would permit activities such as tourism in these areas, compromising their integrity.
Notably, while the clearance of the Bill by the Committee in its entirety despite the criticisms and arguments against it raises questions, it is also pertinent to note that instead of sending the Bill to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science, Environment and Forests, a Joint Committee was set up. The 31-member joint committee has 21 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha. Of these, 18 belong to the ruling BJP.
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