Forest invoice ‘bulldozed’ in Parliament, legislative course of subverted: Congress

By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Wednesday alleged that the way wherein the forest invoice has been “bulldozed” in Parliament displays the Modi authorities’s mindset and the “vast gap that exists between its global talk and domestic walk” on problems with surroundings, forests and tribal rights.

The Rajya Sabha handed The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023, after a quick debate, amid protests by opposition members and a walkout by them over the Manipur difficulty.

The invoice seeks to exempt land inside 100 kilometres of the nation’s borders from the purview of conservation legal guidelines and allow the organising of zoos, safaris and eco-tourism services in forest areas.

It amends The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, and was handed by Lok Sabha on July 26 within the ongoing Monsoon session of Parliament.

Congress common secretary and chief whip of the celebration in Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh mentioned the invoice was first launched in Lok Sabha on March 29 (through the Budget session) and it makes a number of “far-reaching and radical” amendments to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.

“The journey of the bill to soon becoming a law is a case study on how to completely subvert the legislative process,” he mentioned in a press release.

Ramesh mentioned the invoice ought to have been referred to the Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, which he chairs.

“I had taken serious objections to this (bill not being sent to the committee) and put them on record as well, not once but twice. Instead, a Joint Committee of Parliament (JCP) was set up with a ruling party MP as its chair,” the Congress chief mentioned.

“Be that as it may, the JCP submitted its report on July 20, 2023. Extraordinarily and perhaps in an unprecedented move, the report suggested no changes whatsoever to the bill as introduced by the government,” he mentioned.

However, Ramesh mentioned, six MPs submitted detailed notes of dissent and he related absolutely.

ALSO READ | Rajya Sabha passes Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill

In a tweet, wherein he shared the assertion, Ramesh mentioned The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023, which makes “several far-reaching and radical amendments to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, has just passed in Rajya Sabha now in the absence of the opposition that is being silenced on Manipur”.

Lok Sabha handed the invoice on July 27 and “today it has been bulldozed in Rajya Sabha in din, without any meaningful debate”, he mentioned.

“Thus, both the substance of the amendments and the manner they have been bulldozed through in Parliament reflects the mindset of the Modi government, and the vast gap that exists between its global talk and domestic walk on the environment, forests and the rights of Adivasis and other forest-dwelling communities,” Ramesh mentioned.

He mentioned the invoice has drawn widespread criticisms over the previous few months and continues to evoke nice concern.

Ramesh listed out the substantive objections to the amendments to the invoice and mentioned the very title of the regulation is being modified.

“For the first time, a law passed by Parliament will have its short title entirely in Hindi without an official English equivalent. This does injustice to non-Hindi speaking states,” the previous Environment minister mentioned.

Besides the change in language, the title of the regulation itself is being amended which when translated into English will learn as Forest (Conservation and Augmentation) Act, he claimed.

“This relies on the idea that plantations can compensate for lack of pure forests.

This notion is totally defective.

The two are ecologically very totally different.

Natural forests could be regenerated however not augmented as appears to be the mindset governing the amendments,” he claimed.

The Rajya Sabha member mentioned “forest-like areas” comparable to tracts of land which have the traits of forests however haven’t been notified below the regulation or recorded as “Forest” in any authorities data, can be exempted below the modification.

This contains historically conserved lands and different unrecorded forest areas that are alleged to be recognized as “deemed forests” in addition to areas meant to be notified as “Forest”, however notification for these below Section 4 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927, (or different equal state regulation) has not even begun, he claimed in his assertion.

Also, forest lands diverted by the State earlier than 1996 are fully exempted below the proposed modification, he claimed.

“Such blanket exemptions will threaten all such forests by diluting the category of ‘forest lands’ which were brought under the mandate of approval in the landmark 1996 T N Godavarman judgment of the Supreme Court,” Ramesh mentioned.

“Exact estimates of all these categories of forests are not easily available. But it appears that anywhere between 20 per cent-25 per cent of the country’s forests could end up losing legal protection and thereby ecological protection as well,” he mentioned.

These “forest-like areas” can now be cleared, diverted, exploited, and bought for non-forestry functions, the Congress chief claimed.

Ramesh additionally alleged that repeatedly the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has ignored the Forest Rights Act, 2006, which was enacted to guard the pursuits of ‘Adivasis’ and different conventional forest-dwellers.

“The settlement of their occupancy and livelihood rights no longer matters in the matter of forest clearances for projects. Even the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, a constitutional body, had taken serious objection to the Forest Conservation Rules, 2022, which do away with the need for approval by the gram sabha when diversion of forest land becomes inevitable,” he mentioned.

“The new amendments continue with this policy of non-compliance with the Forest Rights Act, 2006, by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. Not only individual but also community forest rights (CFRs) will be under severe threat with these amendments,” Ramesh mentioned.

He alleged that within the title of nationwide safety, which undoubtedly is important, an entire clear chit is being supplied to clear forests and alter biodiverse and geologically delicate areas close to the nation’s borders.

One of the amendments exempts lands, “situated within a distance of 100 km along international borders or Line of Control or Line of Actual Control”, for “construction of strategic linear projects of national importance and concerning national security” from acquiring any clearance, he mentioned.

“This not only affects the ecology in the Himalayan and north-eastern regions but also the livelihoods of those communities living at the margins. It can only be hoped that such projects will be planned and executed in an ecologically balanced manner,” the previous Union minister mentioned.

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Wednesday alleged that the way wherein the forest invoice has been “bulldozed” in Parliament displays the Modi authorities’s mindset and the “vast gap that exists between its global talk and domestic walk” on problems with surroundings, forests and tribal rights.

The Rajya Sabha handed The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023, after a quick debate, amid protests by opposition members and a walkout by them over the Manipur difficulty.

The invoice seeks to exempt land inside 100 kilometres of the nation’s borders from the purview of conservation legal guidelines and allow the organising of zoos, safaris and eco-tourism services in forest areas.googletag.cmd.push(operate() googletag.show(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); );

It amends The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, and was handed by Lok Sabha on July 26 within the ongoing Monsoon session of Parliament.

Congress common secretary and chief whip of the celebration in Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh mentioned the invoice was first launched in Lok Sabha on March 29 (through the Budget session) and it makes a number of “far-reaching and radical” amendments to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.

“The journey of the bill to soon becoming a law is a case study on how to completely subvert the legislative process,” he mentioned in a press release.

Ramesh mentioned the invoice ought to have been referred to the Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, which he chairs.

“I had taken serious objections to this (bill not being sent to the committee) and put them on record as well, not once but twice. Instead, a Joint Committee of Parliament (JCP) was set up with a ruling party MP as its chair,” the Congress chief mentioned.

“Be that as it may, the JCP submitted its report on July 20, 2023. Extraordinarily and perhaps in an unprecedented move, the report suggested no changes whatsoever to the bill as introduced by the government,” he mentioned.

However, Ramesh mentioned, six MPs submitted detailed notes of dissent and he related absolutely.

ALSO READ | Rajya Sabha passes Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill

In a tweet, wherein he shared the assertion, Ramesh mentioned The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023, which makes “several far-reaching and radical amendments to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, has just passed in Rajya Sabha now in the absence of the opposition that is being silenced on Manipur”.

Lok Sabha handed the invoice on July 27 and “today it has been bulldozed in Rajya Sabha in din, without any meaningful debate”, he mentioned.

“Thus, both the substance of the amendments and the manner they have been bulldozed through in Parliament reflects the mindset of the Modi government, and the vast gap that exists between its global talk and domestic walk on the environment, forests and the rights of Adivasis and other forest-dwelling communities,” Ramesh mentioned.

He mentioned the invoice has drawn widespread criticisms over the previous few months and continues to evoke nice concern.

Ramesh listed out the substantive objections to the amendments to the invoice and mentioned the very title of the regulation is being modified.

“For the first time, a law passed by Parliament will have its short title entirely in Hindi without an official English equivalent. This does injustice to non-Hindi speaking states,” the previous Environment minister mentioned.

Besides the change in language, the title of the regulation itself is being amended which when translated into English will learn as Forest (Conservation and Augmentation) Act, he claimed.

“This relies on the idea that plantations can compensate for lack of pure forests.

This notion is totally defective.

The two are ecologically very totally different.

Natural forests could be regenerated however not augmented as appears to be the mindset governing the amendments,” he claimed.

The Rajya Sabha member mentioned “forest-like areas” comparable to tracts of land which have the traits of forests however haven’t been notified below the regulation or recorded as “Forest” in any authorities data, can be exempted below the modification.

This contains historically conserved lands and different unrecorded forest areas that are alleged to be recognized as “deemed forests” in addition to areas meant to be notified as “Forest”, however notification for these below Section 4 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927, (or different equal state regulation) has not even begun, he claimed in his assertion.

Also, forest lands diverted by the State earlier than 1996 are fully exempted below the proposed modification, he claimed.

“Such blanket exemptions will threaten all such forests by diluting the category of ‘forest lands’ which were brought under the mandate of approval in the landmark 1996 T N Godavarman judgment of the Supreme Court,” Ramesh mentioned.

“Exact estimates of all these categories of forests are not easily available. But it appears that anywhere between 20 per cent-25 per cent of the country’s forests could end up losing legal protection and thereby ecological protection as well,” he mentioned.

These “forest-like areas” can now be cleared, diverted, exploited, and bought for non-forestry functions, the Congress chief claimed.

Ramesh additionally alleged that repeatedly the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has ignored the Forest Rights Act, 2006, which was enacted to guard the pursuits of ‘Adivasis’ and different conventional forest-dwellers.

“The settlement of their occupancy and livelihood rights no longer matters in the matter of forest clearances for projects. Even the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, a constitutional body, had taken serious objection to the Forest Conservation Rules, 2022, which do away with the need for approval by the gram sabha when diversion of forest land becomes inevitable,” he mentioned.

“The new amendments continue with this policy of non-compliance with the Forest Rights Act, 2006, by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. Not only individual but also community forest rights (CFRs) will be under severe threat with these amendments,” Ramesh mentioned.

He alleged that within the title of nationwide safety, which undoubtedly is important, an entire clear chit is being supplied to clear forests and alter biodiverse and geologically delicate areas close to the nation’s borders.

One of the amendments exempts lands, “situated within a distance of 100 km along international borders or Line of Control or Line of Actual Control”, for “construction of strategic linear projects of national importance and concerning national security” from acquiring any clearance, he mentioned.

“This not only affects the ecology in the Himalayan and north-eastern regions but also the livelihoods of those communities living at the margins. It can only be hoped that such projects will be planned and executed in an ecologically balanced manner,” the previous Union minister mentioned.