Decoded: Amendments to the Forest Conservation Act, 1980

Kanchi Kohli, senior researcher with Centre for Policy Research explained, the amendments proposed to unlock government and private lands from the purview of the forest conservation act.

What is the Forest Conservation Act, 1980?

The said Act promulgated in October, 1980 and applicable since then for conservation of forests. The Act gave powers to the Central government to approve use of any forest for non-forest activities such as infrastructure creation. Centre's approval was also needed to de-reserve the reserved forests. The Act mandated a committee to be formed for giving such approvals. 

What amendments is the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MoEFCC) proposing in the Act now in 2021?

There are three broad changes that the Centre has suggested to the Act. On one hand,