The debate around forest conservation rules

the story So Far: The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) clashed earlier this week over the latest version of the Forest Conservation Rules. Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh alleged that the latest version of the rules, updated last month, allowed the conversion of forest land into industry without addressing the questions of rights of forest dwellers and tribals living on forest land. Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupendra Yadav and Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda denied these claims.

What are the Forest Conservation Rules?

The Forest Conservation Rules pertain to the implementation of the Forest Conservation Act (FCA), 1980. They set out the procedure to be followed for diverting forest land for non-forestry uses such as road construction, highway development, railway lines and mining. ,

The broad objective of the Forest Conservation Act is to protect forests and wildlife, to prevent attempts by state governments to close forest land for commercial projects, and to increase the area under forests.

For forest land of more than five hectares, the permission to divert land should be given by the central government. This is through a specially constituted committee, called the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC).

This committee examines whether the user agency, or those who have requested forest land, have made a convincing case for the deforestation of that specific parcel of land, whether they have any plans to ensure That the ensuing damage – that area from the felling of trees, negating the local landscape – will be minimal and that the said piece of land does not harm wildlife habitat.

Once the FAC is convinced and approves (or rejects) a proposal, it is sent to the respective state government where the land is located, which then has to ensure that the provisions of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 , a separate act that protects rights. Forest dwellers and tribals on their lands, are complied with.

The FAC approval also means that future users of the land will have to provide compensatory land for afforestation as well as pay the net present value (between ₹10-15 lakh per hectare).

What are the updated rules called?

The latest version of the rules, which consolidates changes in the Act over the years from various amendments and court decisions, was made public on June 28, 2022.

The monsoon session of Parliament is scheduled to begin on July 18, 2022 and the law requires that the rules be laid before both houses. The new rules, according to the Centre, “streamline” the approval process. The rules provide for private parties to plant the trees and sell them as land to companies, which are required to meet compensatory afforestation goals.

This, according to the government, will help India increase forest cover as well as solve the problems of the states not getting the compensatory purposes under their jurisdiction. While this has invited controversy of its own, the latest point of contention is the absence of words in the updated Forest Conservation Rules, about what happens to tribals and forest-dwelling communities, whose lands will be closed for development works.

Prior to the updated rules, state bodies would forward documents to the FAC including information on the status of whether forest rights of local people in the area were settled.

After 2009, the Ministry of the Environment passed an order stating that proposals would not be considered by the FAC, unless there was a letter from the state specifying that forest rights “settled” in the place and that the village In the sabha, or governing body, the villages in the area gave their written consent for the diversion of the forest.

However, over the years there have been several orders by the Environment Ministry, and frequent protests by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, who have sought to dilute the consent requirement from the Gram Sabha.

The new rules formally codify this and say that a project once approved by the FAC will be passed on to state officials who will collect compensatory funds and land, and process it for final approval.

Only in the passage, it is mentioned that the states will ensure the “settlement” of the applicable Forest Rights Acts. Many forestry experts point out that this does not automatically imply the consent of the resident tribals and forest dwellers.

What is the position of the government?

Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav reprimanded Mr Ramesh, saying that the completion and adherence to the FRA, 2006 was an independent process and can be done by the states “at any stage” of the forest clearance process and the provisions of the FRA It is mentioned to follow the rules before the states order the diversion of land. However, he said, this had to be completed before the land was cleared for diversion.

The purpose of updating these rules, Mr Yadav said, was to “streamline the approval process”.

How well has the Forest Conservation Act (FCA) been implemented so far?

A 2019 analysis by the Legal Initiative for Forests and the Environment found that the FAC generally approves to divert land without examining the questions surrounding consent because it is up to the state government to ensure.

In the first six months of 2019, out of 240 proposals considered for diversion of forest land for non-forestry purposes, 193 proposals were recommended, 40 proposals were postponed for later consideration and seven was rejected. The recommendation for 193 proposals meant that 9,220.64 hectares of forest land was recommended for diversion for non-forestry purposes such as roads, railways, mining, irrigation, infrastructure and hydropower.