The governance of forest lands has undergone a sea change since the coming into power of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, thanks to the tweaking of 100-odd regulations through executive orders. Most of these changes, made with ease of doing business as the major objective, have gone largely uncontested even by the state governments, though some of them infringe upon their rights. However, such smooth sailing is unlikely for any amendment of the basic laws governing the interrelated areas of environment, forests, wildlife and biodiversity that directly or tacitly have a bearing upon the livelihood of forest-dependent communities. This was clear at the two-day conference of the states' forest and environment ministers held in Delhi this week, where the non-NDA ruled states expressed misgivings over many of the key recommendations of the T S R Subramanian committee.
Non-cooperation from the opposition and the states could make it difficult for the Centre to go ahead with its plans to amalgamate some of the existing environment and forest laws into a comprehensive single statute, and put in place a self-certification-based regulatory mechanism on the lines suggested by the panel - if that is indeed what the Centre plans. The committee's counsel to dilute the powers of the National Green Tribunal may also be hard to accede to. Of the other radical changes suggested, the most notable - as also controversial - ones include doing away with the veto power of the gram sabha over forest lands and confining the "no-go areas" to only very dense forests having a canopy of over 70 per cent. Equally contentious is the proposed scrapping of the need for getting separate clearances under the air and water pollution laws. However well-intentioned many of the other possible alterations - after all, the desire surely must be to clean up the unnecessary confusions and contradictions that bedevil India's environmental regulation - they may need careful planning. Their opponents will correctly point out that while improving the ease of business is highly desirable, it cannot be the sole criterion for recasting the legal and regulatory regime governing the environment and forest sectors. Ensuring adequate forest cover and keeping it in good shape are necessary for responding to the challenges of biodiversity, climate change and livelihood security. The need to find that elusive balance between forest protection and industrialisation continues.
However, as long as the NDA government focuses on putting in place a development-oriented regulatory and policy regime that will ensure genuine scrutiny and the complications-free approval of projects that satisfy environmental requirements, some real progress is assured. From this standpoint, it is significant that a consensus was reached at the state forest ministers' meeting to classify industries and projects into red, orange and green categories on the basis of their air and water pollution potential for the purpose of granting automatic or conditional approval. Besides, the states have also more or less agreed to wipe out the backlog of forest clearances and delineate eco-sensitive zones in their territories by June 30. Equally significantly, the states spanning the Western Ghats have undertaken to demarcate the ecologically-sensitive areas on the lines suggested by the K Kasturirangan committee by that date.
