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Indian Forest Act
India has climbed to the ninth spot globally in total forest area and retained its third rank in annual forest area gain, according to a new report released by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The Environment Ministry said this reflects the success of India's large-scale afforestation and community-led forest protection efforts under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said India's rise from the 10th to the ninth position marks a "major achievement" in sustainable forest management and ecological conservation. The minister said that growing public participation in tree plantation campaigns, particularly under the 'Ek Ped Ma Ke Naam' initiative, and large-scale state government drives have contributed to this progress. "Here is a reason to rejoice for all Indians. We have achieved 9th rank in terms of forest area at the global level as compared to 10th spot in the previous assessment. We have also maintained our 3rd ..
Several tribal and forest rights organisations in Himachal Pradesh have written to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, objecting to a letter issued by the state's Principal Chief Conservator of Forests which, they claim, misinterprets the Forest Rights Act (FRA) and could harm the recognition of rightful forest dwellers. The Forest Rights Act, 2006, recognises the rights of tribal and forest-dependent communities over the land they have lived on and protected for generations. However, its implementation has been marked by violations, with a large number of claims wrongly rejected. The groups, which include Himdhara Collective, Himalaya Niti Abhiyan, Van Adhikar Manch and others, said the forest department's letter, dated April 11 and addressed to all deputy commissioners and forest officers in the state, goes beyond its authority. They demanded immediate withdrawal of the forest department's letter and called for a trust-building process. Calling the letter "an unnecessary and unwarran
Several experts have claimed that the latest government data on India's forests is "inflated" as it includes bamboo plantations, coconut groves, and orchards among others as part of the forest cover. The 'India State of Forests Report 2023' released on Saturday, after a delay of almost a year, said India's total forest and tree cover has increased by 1,445 sq km since 2021, reaching 25.17 per cent of the total geographical area in 2023. However, the forest cover grew by just 156 sq km and most of the gain (149 sq km) occurred outside the Recorded Forest Area (RFA), which refers to areas designated as forests in government records. The overall results could have been stronger, especially since the government included bamboo and smaller trees (5-10 cm diameter at breast height) in the tree cover estimates for ISFR 2023. The assessment also expanded to 751 districts, up from 636 in 2021. Experts including Kerala's former principal chief conservator of forests Prakriti Srivastava, ...
Madhya Pradesh Scheduled Caste Welfare Minister Nagar Singh Chouhan on Monday threatened to resign from his post after he was divested of the Forest and Environment portfolio, which has been allocated to new inductee and Congress turncoat Ramniwas Rawat. Chouhan said his wife Anita Singh Chouhan would also quit as Ratlam MP if BJP organisational leaders failed to respond "positively" to his concerns. The Forest and Environment Ministry held by Nagar was allocated to Rawat on Sunday. "My voice was not heard. I will first talk to organisational leaders and decide the next step. I will decide in a day or two after talking to the party organisation. If I feel I should not stay on the post, I will resign along with my wife Anita," Chouhan, a prominent tribal leader, told PTI over the phone. He said tribals form 23 per cent of the population in Madhya Pradesh. "This is the first time tribals have been given leadership, but now the Forest Department, which is closely associated with ...
The Karnataka High Court has annulled orders issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) that led to the cancellation of registration of Centre for Wildlife Studies' (CWS) under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act. Founded by scientist K Ullas Karanth, Bengaluru-based CWS faced "suspension" of registration under the FCRA on March 5, 2021. This suspension was extended and later turned into cancellation of registration on September 4, 2023, following a show-cause notice issued by MHA on December 3, 2021. CWS contested the cancellation, arguing that it lacked justification and that Karanth, son of Jnanpith laureate late K Shivaram Karanth, was not granted a personal hearing as mandated under Section 14(2) of the FCRA. The MHA countered it, contending that personal hearings were not required before cancelling a registration. Justice M Nagaprasanna of the Karnataka High Court noted that while Section 14(2) allows for the cancellation of registration, Section 14(3) prevents the .
A forest fire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district triggered explosions in several landmines on Friday night, official sources said. The fire occurred this evening in Balnoi and Krishnagati sectors of the district, prompting army, locals and forest officials to launch an operation to contain it, they said.
Recent amendments to the wildlife protection, forest conservation and biological diversity laws were discussed by the members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change with officials of the central and state governments, and their concerns would be reported. Congress leader and the chairman of the committee, Jairam Ramesh, on Sunday said the panel has concluded its five-day study tour of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Bandipore and Nagarhole tiger reserves and Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary. He also noted that the study tours of the parliamentary panels have been restricted to a maximum of 10 days a year, which he said should be flexible. "The Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change has just completed its 5-day study tour of ISRO in Bengaluru, visit to the Bandipur and Nagarhole Tiger Reserves and Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, followed by a discussion with ...
The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday took up the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill 2023 that seeks to exempt land within 100 km of the country's borders from the purview of conservation laws and permit setting up of zoos, safaris and eco-tourism facilities in forest areas. The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha last month. Introducing the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill 2023 in the Rajya Sabha for consideration and passage, Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav said almost 45 lakh hectare land was diverted in the country during 1950 and 1980 when Congress-led government was in the country. BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said the name of the bill has been changed to Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam and a preamble has been added to it. He said under the provisions of the bill, in border areas like those within 100 km boundary of the Line of Actual Control and Line of Control, if a project is declared as having strategic importance and concerning ..
The Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023, has approved all proposed amendments to the principal Act, including the addition of a preamble and renaming it to Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam while specifying areas included in its purview. The main purpose of the bill is to provide clarity on what qualifies as a forest, thereby bringing such areas under the provisions of the Forest Conservation Act (FCA). The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 29 and referred to a 31-member joint committee of both Houses on the same day. In its 201-page report tabled on Thursday, the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) stated that it received 1,309 memoranda, including comments from experts, state governments, departments, public sector undertakings, ministries and defence forces, as well as four notes of dissent from opposition members of the committee. The key amendments proposed to the principal