Govt of India "undermining" Forest Rights Act through CAMPA Bill, "handing over" gram sabha rights to babus

The Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which claims to have played a vital role in the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006 in the country, has urged major opposition political parties in Rajya Sabha to halt passing of Compensatory Afforestation Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) Bill, 2016 in the Rajya Sabha.
CSD’s statement has come following reports that, after the meeting of Arun Jaitley with the senior Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Digvijay Singh, the Congress and the ruling BJP parties have reached an understanding on the Bill to be passed in the Rajya Sabha in the current monsoon session, which began July 18, 2016.
CSD has alleged that the CAMPA Bill in its present form violates the letter and spirit of the “historic” FRA, which enacted to redress all injustice done to the triabls and forest dwellers since British period.

"It not only provides for recognizing individual and community rights over forest and forest land but also authorizes the local community (Gram Sabha) to take final decision on all activities to be done within their community forest resource (CFR) area so also in case of diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes", the statement said.
CAMPA Bill, said CSD, is based on the Kanchan Chopra Committee Report instituted by the Supreme Court of India which fixes compensation for forests diverted for non-forestry use based on the net present value (NPV) of diverted forests and costs of compensatory afforestation.
The NPV and compensatory afforestation are in the range of Rs 5 lakhs to 11 lakh/ per hectares (ha), depending on the type of forests and condition of forests. Accordingly, the UPA Government first brought the Bill in 2013. The Bill was withdrawn after opposition by civil society for over-empowering the forest bureaucracy and neglecting the FRA.
After the formation of NDA government at the Centre, the CSD said, a revised bill was introduced in Parliament in 2015 and was passed by the Lok Sabha. It alleged, the new bill makes cosmetic changes in the original bill, but retains most of the retrogressive features.
CSD said, the most critical problem with the bill is, it effectively allows the forest bureaucracy at the state and national level to decide how to use the vast monies that accumulated in the CAMPA fund.
CSD added, it had appraised the major opposition political parties including Rahul Gandhi’s office and Left parties on the discrepancies in the BJP’s CAMPA Bill duly passed in the Lok Sabha and placed in the Rajya Sabha in last Parliament Session and had mobilized and convinced them to bring amendment in the CAMPA Bill.
As a result, it said, Indian National Congress Party through Jairam Ramesh moved an amendment requiring Gram Sabha’s approval for plantation in CFR area and Gram Sabha certification before taking up any planation over any forest land ascertaining settlement of individual forest rights (IFR) of the tribals and forest dwellers over that forest land. As a result the CAMPA Bill could not pass in the last Parliament session.

Comments

When Pakistanis whispered: ‘end military rule’ — A Moscow memoir

During the recent anti-terror operation inside Pakistan by the Government of India, called Operation Sindoor — a name some feminists consider patently patriarchal, even though it’s officially described as a tribute to the wives of the 26 husbands killed in the terrorist strike — I was reminded of my Moscow stint, which lasted for seven long years, from 1986 to 1993.

Revisiting Gijubhai: Pioneer of child-centric education and the caste debate

It was Krishna Kumar, the well-known educationist, who I believe first introduced me to the name — Gijubhai Badheka (1885–1939). Hailing from Bhavnagar, known as the cultural capital of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, Gijubhai, Kumar told me during my student days, made significant contributions to the field of pedagogy — something that hasn't received much attention from India's education mandarins. At that time, Kumar was my tutorial teacher at Kirorimal College, Delhi University.

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

A sector under siege? War and real estate: Navigating uncertainty in India's expanding market

I was a little surprised when I received an email alert from a top real estate consultant, Anarock Group , titled "Exploring War’s Effects on Indian Real Estate—When Conflict Meets Concrete," authored by its regional director and head of research, Dr. Prashant Thakur. I had thought that the business would wholeheartedly support what is considered a strong response to the dastardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor.

Adani Group a key player in Indo-Israel defence cooperation: Tel Aviv daily

Said to be one of the most influential Israeli dailies, "Haaretz" (literally: News of the Land) has identified the Adani Group—known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi—as one of the key Indian business houses engaged in defence cooperation with Israel. Pointing out that India supplied the Israeli military with Hermes 900 drones, the daily reported that this advanced aerial vehicle came off “the production line in a factory set up in Hyderabad, as part of the cooperation between the Israeli Elbit and India's Adani Group.”

Environmental concern? Global NGO leads campaign urging banks to cut ties with Odisha steel project

A decade after the withdrawal of the South Korean multinational POSCO from Odisha following large-scale protests, questions remain about whether India-based JSW Steel, which took over the project, can successfully revive the 13.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) steel plant and coal-fired power plant. POSCO initiated the project in 2005 but exited in 2017 due to sustained local opposition.

Despite Hindutva hold claim, 18% Hindus in US don't want to be identified with Hinduism!

Scanning through news items on the Google News app on my mobile — which is what I do almost every morning — I came across a story published on India.com, which I found somewhat misleading. The headline said, "Muslim population drops significantly in THIS country as over 25% Muslims leave Islam due to…, the country is…"

Beyond Indus water treaty suspension: A 'nationalist' push despite harsh climate realities

The suspension of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) appears to have pushed the middle classes, at least in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, Gujarat, further towards what the powers-that-be would consider—a "positive" direction. As usual, during my morning walk, I tried talking with a neighbour about what impact it would have. Ignoring what is widely considered a "security lapse," this person, who had just returned after buying milk, compared the Modi move with Trump.

Search This Blog