Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act 2023

Also called: Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam · Topic: Natural Vegetation and Forests of India · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act 2023 changed the Forest (Conservation) Act 1980. It renamed the law the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, or "Forest (Conservation and Augmentation) Act" [1]. It also limited the law to notified and recorded forest land, and it freed some strategic, security and public-utility projects from the need for Central approval [1][2]. It matters because it changes how much forest land is protected from diversion (using forest land for non-forest purposes such as mining, dams, roads and industry). This affects fragile areas like the Himalaya and the North-East, and it reopened the debate over deemed forests.

Explanation

The parent law it amends: Forest (Conservation) Act 1980

• The rule: forest land can be used for a non-forest purpose only with prior approval of the Central Government.
• Why the 1980 Act was needed:
• Forests are in the Concurrent List, so both the Centre and the states can make laws on them.
• Before 1980, states gave away forest land freely for projects.

• The Centre's check slowed down forest loss.

• The Godavarman order (12 December 1996) widened the Act's reach:

• "Forest" was given its dictionary meaning, which means any land that is a forest in fact.
• It also covered any land recorded as forest in government records, no matter who owns it.
• This created deemed forests: land not notified under the Indian Forest Act 1927 that still looks like a forest or is recorded as one. Such land was still protected by the 1980 Act.

What the 2023 Amendment changes

• New name: the Act is now the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam. The new name is meant to show the full reach of the Act, which covers growing forests as well as conserving them [1].
• Narrower coverage. The Act now applies only to:
• land notified as forest under the Indian Forest Act 1927 or other laws; and
• land recorded as forest in government records on or after 25 October 1980.

• Result: some unrecorded deemed forests may fall outside the Act.

• New "forestry" activities allowed on forest land: zoos, safaris and ecotourism facilities.

Exemptions: projects that no longer need Central approval

Exemption	Limit
Strategic linear projects (long, narrow projects such as roads and pipelines) of national importance and national security	Within 100 km of the international border, LoC (Line of Control) or LAC (Line of Actual Control) [1][2]
Access to homes and businesses along roads and railways	Up to 0.10 ha [1][2]
Security-related infrastructure	Up to 10 ha [1][2]
Defence projects, paramilitary camps or public utility works in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) areas	Up to 5 ha [1][2]

• Conditions: every exemption must follow terms set by the Centre, such as compensatory afforestation (planting new forest elsewhere to make up for the forest lost) and mitigation plans (plans to reduce harm) [1].

Criticism and the court's response

• Weaker deemed-forest protection:
• The 1996 Godavarman order protected forests based on what the land actually is.
• The 2023 Act protects forests mainly based on what the records say.

• So forest land that was never recorded may lose its protection.

• Fragile border areas:

• The 100 km border strip covers the Himalaya and the North-East.

• These are biodiversity hotspots: regions with a very large variety of living things that are also under threat.

• Supreme Court, February 2024 (interim order):

• Governments must keep using the dictionary meaning of forest from Godavarman.
• This holds until state expert committees identify such lands (verify current).

Where it occurs

• Where it applies: all of India. It covers notified forests and land recorded as forest on or after 25 October 1980.
• Who runs it: the Central Government gives prior approval for diversion and sets the conditions for exemptions [1]. State governments are the ones that propose diversions.
• Year: 2023. It amends the Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980.
• Regions most affected:
• The 100 km strip along the international border, LoC and LAC, which takes in the Himalaya and the North-East [1][2].
• Left Wing Extremism (LWE) areas, where defence projects, paramilitary camps and public utility works up to 5 ha are exempt [1][2].

• Land along roads and railways, where access works up to 0.10 ha are exempt [1][2].

• Legal background: the deemed-forest idea it affects came from the Godavarman case. That case started in 1995 over illegal tree felling in the Nilgiris (Tamil Nadu).

Don't confuse with

• Indian Forest Act 1927: this colonial law lets governments notify land as reserved or protected forest. The 1980/2023 law does not declare forests. It controls the diversion of forest land to other uses.
• Godavarman order (1996): this was a Supreme Court order, not a law passed by Parliament. It gave "forest" its dictionary meaning, whoever owns the land. The 2023 Act moved towards record-based coverage, and the February 2024 interim order kept the dictionary meaning in force for now.
• Forest Rights Act 2006: this law gives rights (individual, community and CFR rights) to forest dwellers, and its nodal ministry is Tribal Affairs. The 2023 Act deals with Central approval for diverting forest land.
• Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act 2016: this law manages the money paid for diverted forest land through National and State CAMPAs (90 per cent to states). The 2023 Act decides which land and projects need approval in the first place.

Prelims Hooks

• New name: Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam = Forest (Conservation and Augmentation) Act. It renamed the 1980 Act and is not a new, separate law [1].
• Cut-off date: the Act covers land recorded as forest on or after 25 October 1980, plus land notified under the Indian Forest Act 1927 or other laws.
• Exemption limits: strategic linear projects within 100 km of the IB, LoC or LAC; 10 ha for security infrastructure; 5 ha in LWE areas; 0.10 ha along roads and railways [1][2].
• Trap: the 100 km exemption is only for strategic linear projects of national importance and national security. It does not cover all land within 100 km of the border [1][2].
• Newly allowed on forest land: zoos, safaris and ecotourism facilities.
• February 2024 Supreme Court interim order: the dictionary meaning of forest (Godavarman, 12 December 1996) still applies until state expert committees identify such lands.

Mains Points

• Development versus conservation (GS-III):
• For the Act: it speeds up roads, pipelines and security works along the IB, LoC and LAC and in LWE areas, with compensatory afforestation and mitigation plans as conditions [1].

• Against the Act: the 100 km strip takes in the fragile Himalaya and North-East. Linear projects there can split forests into pieces and harm slopes that erode easily. NFP 1988 wants two-thirds forest cover in such hill areas.

• Records versus reality: the deemed-forest problem:

• Godavarman protected land that is a forest in fact. The 2023 Act relies on records.
• Unrecorded forests could therefore be lost. This would widen the gap between India's 25.17 per cent forest and tree cover and the 33 per cent goal [3].

• The February 2024 Supreme Court order shows the courts still guard deemed forests. A lasting fix needs states to identify and record such lands quickly.

• The way forward:

• Tie the exemptions to proper ecological checks.
• Make compensatory afforestation produce natural, mixed-species forest, not single-species plantations.
• Respect gram sabha consent (the Niyamgiri principle) when forest land is diverted.
• Together, these steps balance national security with the NFP 1988 aim of ecology and local needs first.

Related concepts

• National Forest Policy 1952
• National Forest Policy 1988
• TN Godavarman Thirumulpad case
• Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act 2016
• Forest Rights Act 2006

Read more

• Forest policy and forest law since Independence