Punjab based Public Action Committee (PAC) terming it retrograde has stated that 20-25% forests of India have lost their legal protection as the definition of forest has been changed by the new forest conservation law. These areas are forests but not notified as such in revenue records. The Supreme Court in the famous TN Godavarman judgement of 1996 had given these areas protection of the forest (conservation) act as “deemed forests”. That has now been removed and huge tracts of forests in India will now be open to commercial plunder.
A complete clean chit is being provided to clear forests and alter biodiversity and geologically sensitive regions near our borders. There will be blanket permissions to destroy our forests without any check by removing such large territory of the country from the protection of the law is going to weaken our forests and biodiversity, it said.
Such retrograde steps in the name of Vikas (development) are very unfortunate and a recipe for disaster. This is also totally out of tune with the times when climate change is causing havoc with our planet, said PAC.
The Warrior Mom’s, an organisation of concerned mothers has stated the clearing of forest (conservation) amendment bill is a big setback for all those believing in nature and seeing towards it for protection from many havocs nature cause.
The various organisations had indulged into Twitter storm to mobilise support against the bill and writing to Rajya Sabha members across party lines to stop the passing of bill yet it has been cleared.