Parliament passes Forest Bill which exempts land within 100 km of India's borders from purview of conservation laws

Parliament has passed the Forest Bill which exempts land within 100 km of India’s borders from the purview of conservation laws.

The bill exempts land up to 10 hectares, proposed to be used for constructing security-related infrastructure, or the land proposed to be used for constructing defence-related projects, camps for paramilitary forces, or public utility projects as specified by the central government not exceeding five hectares in left-wing extremism affected area.

The bill will also empower the central government to specify, by order, the terms and conditions subject to which any survey, such as, reconnaissance, prospecting, investigation or exploration including seismic survey, shall not be treated as non-forest purpose.

The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, is an important central statute for the conservation of forests in the country. It provides that the de-reservation of reserved forests, use of forest land for non-forest purpose, assigning forest land by way of lease or otherwise to private entity and clearing of naturally grown trees for the purpose of reafforestation requires prior permission of the central government.