Key highlights of the environment ministry’s proposal:
Forests on private land:
In the consultation paper, the ministry said “Identification of such land is subjective and arbitrary to some extent. This leads to ambiguity and has been observed to have resulted into a lot of resentment and resistance particularly from private individuals and organisations. Considering any private area as forest, would restrict the right of an individual to use his/her own land for any non-forestry activity.”
“This has further led to the tendency to keep most of the private lands devoid of vegetation even if there’s scope for planting activities. In view of this, it is felt extremely necessary to define the scope of application of the act in an objective manner,” it added.
Getting a step ahead towards climate change
The paper has said that in order to achieve the NDC extensive plantation in all the available lands outside the government forests was necessary.
The paper stated that, “But to ensure this, there is a need to dispel the apprehension among tree growers that vegetation or tree plantation raised on their private/ non forest lands will attract the provisions of the Act.”
Moving ahead to strategic projects
The paper has asked whether the use of forest land for strategic as well as security projects for national importance must be exempted form the need to get the prior approval from the Central government.
By doing this, the states will be permitted for the diversion of forest land for the strategic as well as security projects that are supposed to be completed in the given time.
Keeping forests intact
It is being considered by the environment ministry to introduce a provision in the forest conservation act keeping certain pristine forests “showcasing rich ecological values” intact for a specific period.
Natural Gas and oil extraction
The paper proposed to bring out new technologies like extended reach drilling (ERD) for extraction of oil and natural gas found deep beneath the forest land by drilling holes from outside the forest areas. It also says that doing this will not have an impact on the soil or aquifer that supports the forest.
Building in forests
The ministry has proposed to allow people with the right to construct structures for bonafide purposes including forest protection measures and residential units up to an area of 250 sq mtr as one time relaxation
“With these amendments the environment ministry looks to unlock land for infrastructure development and plantations, both of which are high on economic priorities. The 1996 Supreme Court order had banned the use of domestic timber for wood-based industries, including saw mills. This hugely increased raw material imports as a trade-off to conserve plantations and important forest areas. So, the underlying presumption is that private land, once released from the requirement of prior forest clearances will incentivize plantation-based carbon sinks. In reality, these lands will become market commodities and tradable assets both for private parties to sell, and government to acquire on behalf of private parties,” said Kanchi Kohli, legal researcher at Centre for Policy Research.
“On the infrastructure side, the environment ministry has prioritized the requirements of government agencies like NHAI and railways. It assumes that land once acquired by these agencies should be allowed for unencumbered use. However, this does not explicitly take into account that these acquisitions themselves may be based on unresolved land rights or may have created new livelihood base for people brought in to raise, maintain and sell the plantations on government land.” she added.
