The central government is changing or trying to change laws related to forest conservation, wildlife protection, environmental protection, biodiversity, and mining. The changes being made to such laws are having a devastating impact on the lives of tribals and forest dwellers. Special provisions have been made in the Constitution to protect the rights of tribals and forest dwellers. The democratic governance system of forests established in the Forest Rights Act 2006 and the PESA Act 1996 is under serious threat due to the legal changes being made by the current government.
It is necessary to understand the economic agenda behind these legal changes, the main objective of which is to make business easier. The proposed and implemented amendments in laws and rules such as the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1957, the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, the Environmental Impact Assessment 2006, etc., are proof that the state works to facilitate capitalists and big business houses.
The state wants to hand over forest resources to the business class. During the Corona period, the 'Principal Chief Conservator of Forests' office of the Madhya Pradesh government had issued an order on October 20, 2020, to hand over 3.7 million hectares of degraded forests to private companies under the 'Public-Private-Partnership' (PPP) mode, but it was stopped after opposition. It is from this 'protected forest' that people have been given or are to be given the right of 'community forest use rights' or the community's right over 'community forest resources' under the 'Forest Rights Act - 2006'. If these 3.7 million hectares of forest land are with industrialists, then which forest will be left for the people? According to a 2019 report by 'India Spend', land has been snatched from 1 million tribals in the country and given to businesses.
Currently, the Madhya Pradesh government has again planned to hand over degraded forest land for afforestation under the Green Credit program to private investors, which will also include the right for investors to sell 50 percent of minor forest produce. According to government figures, seventeen states have so far earmarked more than 57,700 hectares of barren land for afforestation under the Green Credit program. Madhya Pradesh, which has the largest forest area in the country, had identified and registered more than 15,200 hectares of barren land for this program by February 2, which is more than all other states, as the government stated in the current parliamentary session.
The Forest Conservation Act 1980 was enacted in India for the conservation of forests, and the Supreme Court gave a broad definition of "forest" which was included in its historic decision in T.N. Godavarman vs. Union of India (1996). The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023, came into effect on December 1, 2023. This 2023 amendment act threatens ecological damage, displacement, a weaker legal framework for tribal people, and land rights. This Forest Conservation Amendment goes against PESA, the Forest Rights Act, and the Niyamgiri judgment. PESA, the Forest Rights Act, and the Niyamgiri judgment provide for taking free, prior, and informed consent from the Gram Sabha before the commencement of any project.
The amendment allows for the diversion of forest land for linear projects related to national security and defense within a 100-kilometer radius of border areas adjoining other countries, while this area is ecologically sensitive and rich in biodiversity. Jungle safaris, zoos, and eco-tourism have been added to the list of approved activities for "non-forest purposes." This amendment has limited forest land to two categories: first, areas formally designated under the Indian Forest Act 1927 or any other applicable law, and second, land not falling in the first category but listed as forest in government records since October 25, 1980.
Furthermore, land declared as non-forest land before December 12, 1996, will not come under the purview of the Act. The government's stand regarding the amendment is that it has been done to achieve national and international commitments like carbon neutrality, to remove doubts regarding different types of land, to bring clarity regarding the practicality of the law, to promote plantation on non-forest land, and to increase the productivity of forests, etc. This amendment has been challenged in the Supreme Court. A bench of Justice B. R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran, while hearing petitions against the amendments in the 2023 Forest Conservation Law, restrained the Center and states from taking any steps that would cause damage to forest areas until the next order. In February 2024, the apex court had commented that approximately 1.99 lakh hectares of forest area had been excluded from "forest" under the amended 2023 law on forest conservation. Similarly, the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, was amended in 2022.
Under the amended law, the penalties for various offenses under the wildlife law have been increased, and the power of wildlife officials to impose penalties for an offense has been increased from ₹25,000 to ₹5 lakh. On the one hand, forest dwellers will be incapable of paying such a large amount and will have to serve jail sentences, while on the other hand, wealthy offenders will be able to get away with just paying money for the same offense. Amendments are proposed in the Indian Forest Act, 1927, which include the intention to arm forest officials to militarize forests and give them powers like AFSPA (special powers given to armed forces deployed in disturbed areas of the North-Eastern states). In 2015, the Madhya Pradesh government brought a proposal in the Tribal Advisory Council to change sections 170A, 170B, 170C, and 170D of the MP Land Revenue Code, 1959, so that non-tribals could buy tribal land. It was stopped after opposition. However, amendments have been made from time to time in accordance with the state policy according to the prevailing circumstances.
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*Bargi Dam Displaced and Affected Association
The amendment allows for the diversion of forest land for linear projects related to national security and defense within a 100-kilometer radius of border areas adjoining other countries, while this area is ecologically sensitive and rich in biodiversity. Jungle safaris, zoos, and eco-tourism have been added to the list of approved activities for "non-forest purposes." This amendment has limited forest land to two categories: first, areas formally designated under the Indian Forest Act 1927 or any other applicable law, and second, land not falling in the first category but listed as forest in government records since October 25, 1980.
Furthermore, land declared as non-forest land before December 12, 1996, will not come under the purview of the Act. The government's stand regarding the amendment is that it has been done to achieve national and international commitments like carbon neutrality, to remove doubts regarding different types of land, to bring clarity regarding the practicality of the law, to promote plantation on non-forest land, and to increase the productivity of forests, etc. This amendment has been challenged in the Supreme Court. A bench of Justice B. R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran, while hearing petitions against the amendments in the 2023 Forest Conservation Law, restrained the Center and states from taking any steps that would cause damage to forest areas until the next order. In February 2024, the apex court had commented that approximately 1.99 lakh hectares of forest area had been excluded from "forest" under the amended 2023 law on forest conservation. Similarly, the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, was amended in 2022.
Under the amended law, the penalties for various offenses under the wildlife law have been increased, and the power of wildlife officials to impose penalties for an offense has been increased from ₹25,000 to ₹5 lakh. On the one hand, forest dwellers will be incapable of paying such a large amount and will have to serve jail sentences, while on the other hand, wealthy offenders will be able to get away with just paying money for the same offense. Amendments are proposed in the Indian Forest Act, 1927, which include the intention to arm forest officials to militarize forests and give them powers like AFSPA (special powers given to armed forces deployed in disturbed areas of the North-Eastern states). In 2015, the Madhya Pradesh government brought a proposal in the Tribal Advisory Council to change sections 170A, 170B, 170C, and 170D of the MP Land Revenue Code, 1959, so that non-tribals could buy tribal land. It was stopped after opposition. However, amendments have been made from time to time in accordance with the state policy according to the prevailing circumstances.
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*Bargi Dam Displaced and Affected Association
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