The Forest Conservation Amendment Act in India is likely to benefit private and public project developers by making more land available for development. Some states have already started seeking the use of deemed forest land for development projects. The amendment exempts unrecorded "deemed forests" from its ambit, allowing for development on these areas. Private forest owners in Mussoorie and Goa have also been allowed to construct residential buildings in private and deemed forests. However, environmental implications are expected to be significant. The government of Delhi has written to the union environment ministry seeking clarification on whether "deemed forest" areas in the Capital can be used for development projects.
New Delhi: From regularising projects that have come up in forest areas in violation of rules, to seeking to build in deemed or private forests, the forest conservation amendment act or the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Act is likely to benefit private and public project developers by making more land available for development.
Some states have already started approaching the Centre seeking the use of deemed forest land.
On December 12, the government of Delhi wrote to the union environment ministry seeking a clarification on whether “deemed forest” areas in the Capital that do not meet the tree density criteria can be utilised for development projects. The move came after the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023, which exempts unrecorded “deemed forests” from its ambit, came into force on December 1.
Even though Delhi’s forest department said it was only seeking a clarification , the letter read: “Over time these stretches of roads have lost the density of trees and do not meet the criteria conveyed in the affidavit filed by conservator of forests, government of NCT... in Supreme Court of India. Now, for various developmental activities such as road expansion, metro corridor and other developmental projects, agencies submit their application for tree felling on such stretches of roads which are listed in the aforementioned affidavit as deemed forests but on ground these stretches have lost their tree density for qualifying as deemed forest,” the letter states.
The Union environment ministry has not responded according to Delhi forest department officials.
In a handbook on consolidated guidelines and clarifications issued under the new act which has been circulating but is yet to be published yet on its website, the ministry clarifies that eco-tourism activities on private forest land, may now be allowed.
Forest governance in India was majorly influenced by a Supreme Court judgement in 1996 in TN Godavarman vs Union of India, in which the court interpreted the meaning of forest as its dictionary definition, expanding the purview of the forest conservation law. The December 1996 judgement said forests will not only include forest as understood in the dictionary sense, but also any area recorded as forest in official records, irrespective of ownership. This brought hope to recognize ecologically rich land that were not recorded as forests in government records but still needed to be protected because they were significant natural features. But under the new law, unrecorded deemed forests will not receive legal protection of a forest anymore.
Following several representations by owners of private forests in Mussoorie for several years, the Union environment ministry has allowed homestead owners in Mussoorie and Goa’s private and deemed forests to construct residential buildings as reported by HT on January 3. The construction, previously not allowed, has been made possible because of the latest amendment of the Forest Conservation Act or the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam -- but its environmental implications are expected to be massive.
“The clarification note issued by the Ministry itself observes that much of the forest remaining around Mussoorie is private forests. Yet, at the same time they are sounding the death knell for these forests and its associated wildlife with allowing construction of “homesteads” in these forests. This is bound to lead to fragmentation and decimation of these forests unless the regulations and clauses related to “homesteads” are strictly followed. In the name of homesteads, a number of ancillary activities and construction eg. access roads, outhouses, other facilities are likely to come up. It would also not be surprising to see misuse of the clause with commercial or semi-commercial properties coming up in these forests (as is already happening). Many or most of these private forests would also be having existing construction on them so it would be important to assess if additional construction is justified,” said Sejal Worah, Partner, Jabarkhet Nature Reserve, Mussoorie and a Mussoorie Resident.
“In terms of wildlife, these patches of private forest form an important habitat connectivity for many protected species to move around and survive. Fragmentation and disturbance in these forests will impact many such species and could also lead to increased conflict. As we have seen with the setting aside of 100 acres of such a private forest as Jabarkhet Nature Reserve, wildlife such as leopard, goral, barking deer, black bear, martens, porcupines, civets, leopard cats, Himlayayan fox and more are thriving ,” added Worah.
Based on the provisions of the new amendment and requests by the Haryana government, ex-post facto approval was granted for construction of Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies, according to the minutes of the Forest Advisory Committee dated December 18.
The land on which the institute came up falls under section 4 & 5 of Punjab Land Preservation Act. An “in-principle” clearance and an “ex-post facto” approval was granted to the Institute by the FAC with the condition that encroached forest area (i.e. 0.19 ha) shall be cleared and plantation be taken up on the area by the Institute.
HT also reported on December 28 that the environment ministry will consider ex-post facto clearance for various non-forest projects that have come up in the Aravallis, citing minutes of a forest advisory committee (FAC) meeting , prompting experts to say it could clear the way for construction deemed illegal on protected land to be regularised again.
Land covered under special sections 4 and 5 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), 1900 should be treated as forests, the Supreme Court ruled in July 2022. Special orders under Section 4 of PLPA are restrictive provisions issued by the state government to prevent deforestation of a specified area that could lead to soil erosion. But, several encroachments have already come up on such land over the years.
As soon as the new amendment received President’s assent in August, the Odisha government directed all district collectors to ensure that diversion of forest land for infrastructure projects, particularly state development projects, follow provisions of the new law, although it subsequently decided to wait for detailed rules and guidelines from the ministry.
Source: Hindustan Times, ByJayashree Nandi