Changes to Forest Conservation Act

Changes to Forest Conservation Act

Subject – Environment

Context – The Union Government has proposed changes to Forest Conservation Act.

Concept –

• It has proposed absolving agencies involved in national security projects and border infrastructure projects from obtaining prior forest clearance from the Centre.

• The FCA, which first came in 1980 and was amended in 1988, requires such permission.
• The onerous requirements imposed by the FCA have in the past delayed critical border infrastructure projects.
• Earlier, MoEFCC had accorded general approval for diversion of forest land for construction and widening of border roads in the areas falling within 100 km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.
• The proposed amendment could remove one of the most biggest hurdles in the timely completion of border infrastructure projects.
• There is also a plan in the document to exempt land acquired before 1980 by public sector bodies such as the Railways.
• • Currently there is a strong resentment among several Ministries on how the Act was being interpreted over the right of way of railways, highways.
  • At present, a landholding agency (Rail, NHAI, PWD, etc.) is required to take approval under the Act and pay stipulated compensatory levies such as Net Present Value (NPV), Compensatory Afforestation (CA), etc. for use of such land which was originally been acquired for non-forest purposes.
• The Environment Ministry has proposed adding a clause to make offences under the modified Act punishable with simple imprisonment for a period which may extend to one year and make it cognisable and non-bailable.
• Provisions have been proposed for penal compensation to make good for the damage already done.
• It proposes removing zoos, safaris, Forest Training infrastructures from the definition of “non-forestry” activities.
  • The current definition restricts the way money collected as part of compensatory cess can be spent towards forest conservation purposes.

The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980

• It is the principal legislation that regulates deforestation in the country. It prohibits the felling of forests for any “non-forestry” use without prior clearance by the central government.
• The clearance process includes seeking consent from local forest rights-holders and from wildlife authorities.
• The Centre is empowered to reject such requests or allow it with legally binding conditions.
• In a landmark decision in 1996, the Supreme Court had expanded the coverage of FCA to all areas that satisfied the dictionary definition of a forest; earlier, only lands specifically notified as forests were protected by the enforcement of the FCA.
• The FCA is a brief legislation with only five sections. Section 1 defines the extent of coverage of the law, Section 2 restrictions of activities in forest areas, and the rest deals with the creation of advisory committees, powers of rule-making and penalties.