GS Paper II

News Excerpt:

The Supreme Court has said that 'forests' should be defined in accordance with a judgment it passed in 1996. This assertion questions the Govt's argument for amending the Forest Conservation Act.

What is the case:

• Recently, a three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) passed the order on petitions that challenged the 2023 amendments to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 (FCA) on the ground that the modifications had “substantially diluted” the definition of forest, and had reduced the ambit of the Act.
• The Supreme Court has directed governments to follow the “broad and all-encompassing” definition of forest as laid down in its 1996 judgment in the T N Godavarman case until a consolidated record of all kinds of forests across the country is prepared.

Why was the forest (conservation) act amended in 2023?

• The Environment Minister told the Parliament that the amendments were necessary to remove ambiguities created by the judgment, which had made the FCA applicable to all areas that resembled the dictionary meaning of ‘forest’.
• Subsequent to the T N Godavarman case, the provisions of the Act were applied in recorded forests which had already been put to various types of non-forestry use, thereby restraining the authorities from undertaking any change in the land use and allowing any development or utility related work.
• As a remedy, the amendment made the FCA applicable only to notified forests and lands that were identified as ‘forest’ in government records.

Government Arguments:

• The government had justified the 2023 amendments as a means to address the development needs of forest-dwelling tribes. 
• The FCA comes in the way of building even toilets in schools for tribal girls.
• Ministry of environment and forest assured that the amended FCA would still apply to all unclassified forests, forests that were “proposed to be notified”, like the land recorded as forest by even local bodies, and also the forest-like areas identified by the expert committees set up in pursuance of the 1996 SC order.

Major concerns related to the amended Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980:

• The major apprehension was the potential exclusion of 28% of India’s forests that lie outside Recorded Forest Areas from the purview of the FC Act.
• Pending finalisation of the consolidated record of forests, that is required to be completed within one year under the amended 2023 Rules, and land parcels that would have been considered forests under the 1996 judgment could now be used for non-forest purposes without requiring any clearance under the FCA.

How SC define ‘forest’ for the purposes of the Act?

• The court ruled that the FCA would apply to all land parcels that were either recorded as ‘forest’, or which resembled the dictionary meaning of forest.
• In T N Godavarman case, the SC said that the word ‘forest’ must be understood according to its dictionary meaning. This description covers all statutorily recognised forests, whether designated as reserved, protected or otherwise.
• The term ‘forest land’ will not only include ‘forests’ as understood in the dictionary sense, but also any area recorded as forest in the Government record irrespective of the ownership.
• Recently, the CJI-led three-judge Bench reaffirmed this principle on Monday, saying that the dictionary meaning of forests had been adopted by the court to align with Parliament’s intent behind legislating the FCA in 1980.

What happens now:

• States and Union Territories have until March 31 to submit comprehensive records of forests identified by the expert committees constituted as per the 1996 judgment. 
• During identification, the expert committees are free to expand the protection umbrella to any forest land that is worth protecting.
• The Ministry will have to publish this data on its website by April 15.
• The matter will be heard for final disposal in July.

Conclusion:

The Supreme Court's directive to define forests broadly as per its 1996 judgment in the T N Godavarman case is crucial for upholding environmental conservation. It ensures that the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, applies to all areas resembling forests, safeguarding them from development and highlighting the importance of sustainable land use.