In T N
Godavarman Thirumulpad vs Union of India, Supreme Court held that:
5. Each State Government should constitute within one
month an Expert Committee to:
(i) Identify areas which are
"forests", irrespective of whether
they are so notified, recognised or
classified under any law, and
irrespective of the ownership of
the land of such forest;
(ii) identify areas which were
earlier forests but stand degraded,
denuded or cleared; and
(iii) identify areas covered by
plantation trees belonging to the
Government and those belonging to
private persons.
6. Each State Government should within two months, file a
report regarding:-
(i) the number of saw mills,
veneer and plywood mills actually
operating within the State, with
particulars of their real
ownership;
(ii) the licensed and actual
capacity of these mills for stock
and sawing;
(iii) their proximity to the
nearest forest;
(iv) their source of timber.
7. Each State Government should constitute within one
month, an Expert Committee to assess :
(i) the sustainable capacity of
the forests of the State qua saw
mills and timber based industry;
(ii) the number of existing saw
mills which can safely be sustained
in the State;
(iii) the optimum distance from
the forest, qua that State, at
which the saw mill should be
located.
8. The Expert Committees so constituted should be
requested to give its report within one month of being
constituted.
9. Each State Government would constitute a Committee
comprising of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and
another Senior Officer to oversee the compliance of this
order and file status reports.
Art. 16(1) of Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan)
Rules, 2023:
16. Miscellaneous.—(1) For the purpose of explanation of government records provided under subsection (1) of
section 1A of the Adhiniyam, the State Governments and Union territory Administrations, within a period of one year,
shall prepare a consolidated record of such lands, including the forest like areas identified by the Expert Committee
constituted for this purpose, unclassed forest lands or community forest lands on which the provisions of the
Adhiniyam shall be applicable.
As per this article, State Governments are required to constuitute exper committee to identify forest lands and prepare consolidated recored of such land within a perido of one year from the notification of this rule.
In this regard, while hearing batch of petitions questioning Constitutionality of Forest Conservation Amendment Act 2023, Supreme Court directed all the states and Union Territories to constitute within a month expert committee to prepare a consolidated record of such lands, including the forest like areas as per Art 16(1) of Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rules, 2023.
The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023:
Highlights of the Bill
The Act amends the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 to make it applicable to certain types of land. These include land notified as a forest under the Indian Forest Act, 1927 or in government records after the 1980 Act came into effect. The Act will not be applicable for land converted to non-forest use before December 12, 1996.
It also exempts certain types of land from the purview of the Act. These include land within 100 km of India’s border needed for national security projects, small roadside amenities, and public roads leading to a habitation.
The state government requires prior approval of the central government to assign any forest land to a private entity. The Bill extends this to all entities, and allows the assignment to be made on terms and conditions specified by the central government.
The Act specifies some activities that can be carried out in forests, such as establishing check posts, fencing, and bridges. The Bill also allows running zoos, safaris and eco-tourism facilities.
Key Issues and Analysis
The Act excludes two categories of land from the purview of the Act: land recorded as forest before October 25, 1980 but not notified as a forest, and land which changed from forest-use to non-forest-use before December 12, 1996. This provision may go against a 1996 Supreme Court judgement on preventing deforestation.
Exempting land near border areas for national security projects may adversely impact the forest cover and wildlife in north-eastern states.
A blanket exemption for projects like zoos, eco-tourism facilities, and reconnaissance surveys may adversely affect forest land and wildlife.
The Act exempts certain types of land from the provisions of the Act, such as forest land along a rail line or a public road maintained by the government providing access to a habitation, or to a rail, and roadside amenities up to a maximum size of 0.10 hectare. Forest land that will also be exempted includes: (i) land situated within 100 km from international borders, Line of Control, or Line of Actual Control, for construction of a strategic linear project of national importance and concerning national security, (ii) land up to 10 hectares, for constructing security-related infrastructure, or (iii) land proposed to be used for constructing defence related projects, camps for paramilitary forces, or public utility projects up to five hectares in a left-wing extremism affected area. These exemptions will be subject to the terms and conditions specified by the central government by guidelines.
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