Forest Conservation Rules 2022

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Context:

Recently, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has issued the Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2022.

Relevance:

GS III- Science and Technology

Dimensions of the Article:

The Forest Conservation Rules deal with the implementation of the Forest Conservation Act (FCA), 1980.
They prescribe the procedure to be followed for forest land to be diverted for non-forestry uses such as road construction, highway development, railway lines, and mining.
The broad aims of the Forest Conservation Act are to protect forest and wildlife, put brakes on State governments’ attempts to hive off forest land for commercial projects and striving to increase the area under forests.

For forest land beyond five hectares, approval for diverting land must be given by the Central government. This is via a specially constituted committee, called the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC).
This committee examines whether the user agency, or those who have requested forest land, have made a convincing case for the upheaval of that specific parcel of land, whether they have a plan in place to ensure that the ensuing damage — from felling of trees in that area, denuding the local landscape — will be minimal and the said piece of land doesn’t cause damage to wildlife habitat.
Once the FAC is convinced and approves (or rejects a proposal), it is forwarded to the concerned State government where the land is located, who then has to ensure that provisions of the Forest Right Act, 2006, a separate Act that protects the rights of forest dwellers and tribals over their land, are complied with.
The FAC approval also means that the future users of the land must provide compensatory land for afforestation as well as pay the net present value (ranging between ₹10-15 lakh per hectare.)

The rules make a provision for private parties to cultivate plantations and sell them as land to companies who need to meet compensatory forestation targets.
This, according to the government, will help India increase forest cover as well as solve the problems of the States of not finding land within their jurisdiction for compensatory purposes.
While this has invited its own controversy, the latest point of contention is the absence of wording, in the updated Forest Conservation Rules, of what happens to tribals and forest-dwelling communities whose land would be hived off for developmental work.

State bodies would forward documents to the FAC that would also include information on the status of whether the forest rights of locals in the area were settled.
After 2009, the Environment Ministry passed an order mandating that proposals would not be entertained by the FAC unless there was a letter from the State specifying that the forest rights in the place had been “settled” and the gram sabha, or the governing body in villages in the area, had given their written consent to the diversion of forest.
However, there have been a series of orders by the Environment Ministry over the years, and frequently opposed by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, that have sought to skirt the necessity for consent from the gram sabha.

It formally codify this and say that a project, once approved by the FAC, will then be passed on to the State authorities who will collect the compensatory fund and land, and process it for final approval.
Only in passing, is it mentioned that the States will ensure “settlement” of Forest Rights Acts applicable.

It constituted an,

Advisory Committee:

The Advisory Committee’s role is limited to providing advice or making recommendations regarding the grant of approval under applicable sections with regard to proposals that have been referred to it as well as any matter relating to the conservation of forests that has been referred to it by the Central government.

Project Screening Committee:

For an initial examination of plans including the diversion of forest land, the MoEFCC has directed the establishment of project screening committees in each state and the UT. The five-member committee will meet at least twice a month and provide time-bound project advice to the state governments.
Within 60 days for all non-mining projects with a size of 5 to 40 hectares, and within 75 days for all such mining projects.
The committee is given greater time for projects covering larger areas: 150 days for mining projects and 120 days for non-mining projects involving more than 100 hectares.

Regional Empowered Committees:

All linear projects (roads, highways, etc), projects involving forest land up to 40 hectares and those that have projected a use of forest land having a canopy density up to 0.7 — irrespective of their extent for the purpose of survey — shall be examined in the Integrated Regional Office.

Compensatory Afforestation:

The applicants for diverting forest land in a hilly or mountainous state with green cover covering more than two-thirds of its geographical area, or in a state/UT with forest cover covering more than one-third of its geographical area, will be able to take up compensatory afforestation in other states/UTs where the cover is less than 20%.

Source: The Hindu