Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Forest
Forest
Forest
FOREST
● What is a Forest?
● Initially, Forest was a ‘State’ subject but later it has been added in
the ‘Concurrent List’ via Entry 17A through 42nd amendment
HISTORY OF FOREST REGULATION IN INDIA
● Till the British rule, forests were protected by the Tribal population and
forest dwellers
● After colonial advent, protection towards forests mainly driven by
economic interests
● Forests were seen as sources of raw materials such as timber for building
of ships, railway coaches, etc
● Another reason was to disconnect the forest dependant people from
forests so that government could exercise monopoly over forests
● Forests were also cleared to increase agriculture of selective crops such as
opium, cotton, etc.
EVOLUTION OF FOREST LAWS IN INDIA
● Definition of Forest:
○ Not defined in the Indian Forest Act
○ Definition interpreted through decisions of Judiciary
T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India (1997)
● The order of the Supreme Court was in the context where state
governments were interpreting the meaning of the term ‘forest’ narrowly
to include only reserved forests and going ahead with de-notification of
other forests for non-forest purposes
● The Supreme Court’s intervention brought all forests within the purview
of the term ‘forest’ and thus prevented such misuse of the legal provisions
by states.
Forest Produce:
“forest-produce” includes—
A. the following whether found in, or brought from, a forest or not
timber, charcoal, caoutchouc, catechu, wood oil, resin, natural varnish, bark,
lac, mahua flowers, mahua seeds, kuth and myrabolams, and
A. the following when found in, or brought from a forest, that is to say:-
(i) trees and leaves, flowers and fruits, and all other parts or produce of trees,
(ii) plants not being trees (including grass, creepers, reeds, and moss), and all
parts or produce of such plants
(iii) wild animals and skins, tusks, horns, bones, silk, cocoons, honey and wax,
and all other parts or produce of animals, and
(iv) peat, surface soil, rock, and minerals (including limestone, laterite, mineral
oils, and all products of mines or quarries);
Ø “tree” includes palms, stumps, brush-wood and canes.
CATEGORIES OF FORESTS
1) Reserved Forest
● State Government empowered to declare any forest land or wasteland
which is the property of the government as a Reserved Forest
● Can de-notify a reserved forest too
● This area is strictly regulated area under control of government
● Govt owns all or part of forest produce from the area
● No right could be acquired over reserved forests other than succession,
grant or contract by govt
● Clearing trees, fishing, hunting, setting fire are prohibited activities and
punishable offences
2) Protected Forest
● State govt can notify any forest that it owns which is not a reserved
forest as a protected forest
● No prohibition of activities in protected forests
● However, govt can regulate activities such as reservation of trees,
burning charcoal, quarrying of lime, etc through notifications
3) Village Forest
● State govt can assign rights over reserved forest or protected forest to
any village
● The community can access the forest in return of protection of forest
ecosystem
● Govt can frame rules to give such rights
● All rules applicable to reserved forest apply to village forests except
for the assigned rights
4) Non Government Forests
● The Act gives power to state governments to notify any land that is not
a government property as a forest.
● Several activities such as clearing of land, pasturing, setting fire,
cutting of trees, removal of timber and burning of charcoal can be
regulated or prohibited by state govt
● Regulation is done for preservation of public health, maintenance of
water supply in rivers, springs, and tanks, protection against storms
and floods, preservation of soil, protection of roads, bridges, railways,
etc.
Forest Settlement Officer
➔ Forests can be dereserved and use of forest for non-forest purposes can be allowed
Shift of Power
● FCA makes prior approval of the Central Government mandatory for the use of forest
areas for non-forest purpose.
● State Government has been empowered under this Act to use the forests only for forestry
purposes
● T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India (1997)
the term “forest land” will not only include “forest” as understood in the dictionary
sense but also any area recorded as forest in the Government record irrespective of
the ownership. Therefore, the provisions made for the conservation of forests under
the FCA, 1980 must apply to all forests irrespective of the nature of ownership or
classification thereof.
The SC further held that --
“in view of the meaning of the word “forest”, it is obvious that prior
approval of the Central Government is required for any non-forest
activity within the area of any “forest”. Accordingly, all ongoing activity
within any forest in any State throughout the country, without the prior
approval of the Central Government, must cease forthwith. “
Forest Clearance for use of Forest for non-forest purpose
● Every user agency (person, organization, Company, Department of the Central or State
Government) that wants to use any forest land for non-forest purposes shall propose the
Nodal Officer of the concerned State Government
● The Nodal Officer shall then send the proposal to the concerned Divisional Forest
Officer and the District Collector within ten days of the receipt of the proposal
● The Divisional Forest Officer shall examine the factual details and feasibility of the
proposal and forward his findings to the Conservator of Forests
● The Conservator of Forests shall examine the factual details and feasibility of the
proposal, carry out a site inspection and forward the proposal along with his
recommendations to the Nodal Officer.
● The Nodal Officer, through the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, shall forward
the proposal to the State Government along with his recommendations
● If State govt doesn’t want to dereserve then forest for non-forest purpose, it shall be
intimated to user agency within 30 days of receipt of proposal from Nodal Officer
● If State govt wants to divert land for non-forest purpose, it shall forward the same
to Central Governent within 30 days along with recommendations.
● According to FCA, a Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) is to be appointed to
appraise applications of projects that require to fell trees or the use forest areas.
● The Central Govt takes advice and recommendations of the FAC and may grant
approval to the proposal or may reject it.
Forest Advisory Committee
○ If the forest land forms a part of nature reserve, wildlife sanctuary, etc
1) Name of the Act changed to Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980
2) Coverage of the land
● Land declared or notified as a forest according to Indian Forests Act or other law
● Land not covered under the above clause but recorded as ‘forest’ after 1980
● Land which was not converted to use from forest purpose to non-forest purpose
[This excludes the dictionary meaning definition of forests and excludes deemed forests
amounting to 2 lakh sq km area]
Ashok Kumar Sharma, IFS (Retd) & Ors v. Union of India & Ors [2024]
(interim order)
● Petitioners raised the apprehension of lands which are 'forests' as per the
Godavarman judgment- getting diverted for non-forest use as they are
not recorded as forests due to FCAA, 2023.
● Held: The Union government must use the “dictionary definition” of
forests in the process of identifying forest land in all states.
● The Court further directed all states and union territories to identify
their total forest land per the dictionary definition of forest.
3) Exemptions from coverage of FCA
Apart from the old definition, it now says that non-forest purpose is for any purpose other
than reafforestation but does not include work relating or ancilliary to conservation,
development and management of forests and wildlife, such as
● Silviculture operations
● Establishment of checkposts and infrastructure for forest staff
● Establishment and maintenance of fire lines
● Wireless communications
● Construction of fencing, boundary marks or pillars, bridges, check dams,
trenches, pipelines, etc
● Establishment of Zoo and safaris in forest areas other than protected areas
● Eco-tourism facilities
Criticism of FCA Amendment Act, 2023
● Changing the scope of forest – Eliminates restrictions on commercial activity on land that
hasn’t been officially classified as forests by saying that only lands previously designated as
‘forest’ in official records will be considered ‘forests’. This eliminates all those lands which
are under the dictionary meaning of forest
any member or community who has for at least three generations prior to
the 13th day of December, 2005 primarily resided in and who depend on the
forest or forests land for bona fide livelihood needs
A) Rights on all forest land which secure individual or community tenure or both
➔ Right to live in forest land under individual/ common occupation for habitation/
cultivation.
➔ Right of ownership, access to collect, use and dispose minor forest produce
➔ Community rights such as fish, grazing feed, etc
➔ Rights to protect, regenerate, conserve or manage any community forest resource
➔ Access to biodiversity and community right to IP for Traditional knowledge
➔ Right to in situ rehabilitation where they have been illegally evicted or displaced
B) Developmental rights/ Facilities
● Gram Sabha:
○ Village Assembly consisting of all adult members of village
○ Initiating authority for determining the nature and extent of
individual or community forest rights
○ It shall receive and hear the claims
○ Then pass a resolution on claims on forest rights after giving
reasonable opportunity to interested persons
○ Forward to Sub-divisional level committee
● Sub- Divisional Level Committee:
○ Examine the resolutions and maps of Gram Sabha resolutions
○ Ascertain the veracity of claims
○ Forward to District Level Committee
○ Can also hear persons aggrieved by the resolution of Gram
Sabha
● District Level Committee:
○ Final decision wrt claims is taken
○ Decision about forest rights is final and binding
○ Can also hear persons aggrieved by the decision of Sub-
divisional Level Committee
FACTS:
● Vedanta Aluminium Ltd signed an MoU with Odisha State for
construction of mining plant and refinery for bauxite at the Niyamgiri
Hills
● Niyamgiri hills consist of the Dongria Kondh tribal population who depend
on the hills for their livelihood
● People were not aware about the plans until quite late in the approval
process due to systematic lack of information
● Vedanta group tried to persuade the locals to evade land in return for
‘compensation’ and ‘development’.
● Environmental Clearance was also obtained for the project after the
project proponent had undertaken to pay towards compensatory
afforestation, development activities, etc despite all 12 villages around
were against the Mining activity proposed.
● However, later Forest Clearance was denied later after widespread
protests as it would lead to the violation of the FRA, EPA and FCA
● OMC had approached the SC to quash the order of MoEF for rejecting
the Forest Clearance at Niyamgiri Hills.
ISSUE
Whether there is a violation of the FRA and other rights associated with
the locals in the issuance of Prior EC and whether mining can be allowed
at the Niyamgiri Hills?
JUDGMENT (Excerpts)