The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023, was introduced by Union Minister for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Shri Bhupender Yadav in July 2023 in the Lok Sabha. This bill seeks to change the Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980. The 1980 act was enacted to reduce deforestation and conserve forests. After the enactment of the original act, many forested areas needed to be included under the scope of reserved and protected forests. Also, some areas had no standing forests but were included under this category. This made the classification of forest areas very vague. The bill provides for a narrow scope for the term ‘forest.’ In the 1996 Tamil Nadu case, the court broadened the jurisdiction of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 to apply to all land parcels that were either recorded as ‘forest’ by the authorities or those that resembled the dictionary meaning of the term ‘forest. Further, the court ruled against deforestation across the country. However, the present bill contradicts the judgment of the Supreme Court. Also, the bill has been objected to due to some other provisions provided under it.

The following are the key changes or amendments that the new bill aims to introduce:

1. Title: The name of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, is proposed to be changed to ‘Van (Sanraksha Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam.’ This means that the English title of the act will be changed to a Hindi title.
2. Preamble: It aims to insert a Preamble in the act, which provides for its aims and objectives and broadens its scope. It ensures compliance with Net Zero Emission by 2070 and aims to increase forest cover, restore forest cover, create carbon sinks, benefit forest-dependent communities, etc.
3. Applicability: The bill narrows down the applicability of the 1980 Act. Accordingly, it shall apply to recorded forest lands, plantation areas, private forest lands, etc.
4. Broadens the scope of forestry activities: It aims to broaden the scope by including activities like Safari, Zoo, and Ecotourism. It further proposes to consider surveys and investigations as forest activities only.
5. Climate change: It also tries to deal with climate change issues as a part of forest conservation. The preamble provided in the bill envisages that it shall ensure compliance with Net Zero Emission by 2070 and create carbon sinks to reduce Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.
6. Empower locals and tribals: It empowers the local tribals by creating zoos, safaris, and ecotourism outside the Protected areas. This will provide a livelihood to the tribals as they would be provided employment opportunities in these structures.
7. Exemptions: It also provides many exemptions to encourage afforestation and plantation outside forests.
8. Issuance of Directions: The power to issue directions to the State Government or any authority under the Central or State government is provided to the Central Government. The power is given to ensure proper compliance with the act’s provisions only.

Although the bill seeks to make some positive changes to the act, the bill has also been criticized. There are several objections raised against it. They are as follows:

1. Hindi Title: The conversion of English to Hindi title of the act is objected to by non-Hindi speakers, mainly from North-Eastern states. These people don’t understand the Hindi language, or they barely do. So, they demand that the title of the act shall be in English only.
2. Forest rights of people near border areas: The bill will abolish the forest rights of Indians living in border areas. This is done to provide for national security projects near international borders. This will further reduce the forest cover in the northeastern states with large borderlines. So, that is why this provision is widely criticized.
3. Narrowed Authority: The bill narrows down the authority of the original act, by making it applicable to just those areas that were considered as ‘forests’ after the enactment of the 1980 act or the ones that have been recorded as forests by the forest authorities.
4. More authority to the Central Government: Some states have raised concerns that ‘forest conservation’ falls within the Concurrent List of our Constitution so both the Central and State governments shall play equal roles in forest conservation. However, the new bill provides more power to the Central government in such matters.

There is a need to change the proposed Hindi title to English, as India is a country where all languages are given equal status. Further, non-Hindi understanding people won’t be able to understand the title. For other objections against the proposed bill, there is a need to carry out the impact assessment of the changes before enacting the bill. This will help us to understand how they will impact the goal of forest conservation, biodiversity, the local communities, and also at the international level. The assessment could be carried out with the help of NGOs, local people, and governments. This will also help them engage in the amendment process and promote transparency, inclusivity, and better decision-making.

The new bill has been widely criticized due to some vague provisions. The title name is the first objection that needs to be addressed. Then, the scope of the term ‘forest’ was broadened by the apex court in 1996 but the same has been narrowed down under the provisions of this bill. Also, state governments have criticized more authority given to the Central government. There is a need to conduct an impact assessment to know how these changes may impact the forests, biodiversity, local communities, etc. Only then the provisions of this bill shall be enacted. The government can assist NGOs, local people, and the states in carrying out the assessment. Suggestions can also be entertained to ensure the effectiveness of the amendment act.