Green protection to forest land in Aravalli ranges

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What did the court say?

• The Court held that all land covered by the special orders issued under Section 4 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA) in Haryana will be treated as forests and be entitled to protection under the 1980 Forest Conservation Act.
• Special orders under Section 4 of PLPA are the restrictive provisions issued by the state government to prevent deforestation of a specified area that could lead to soil erosion.
• A bench, headed by justice AM Khanwilkar, shot down the Haryana government’s contention that PLPA has no connection with forests, and that the consequences of connecting the two would be disastrous because it would result in demolition of every building in 11 districts of Haryana, including Gurugram and Faridabad.
• Terming the submissions “misleading and fallacious”, the bench held that the land covered by the special orders issued under Section 4 of PLPA have all the trappings of forest lands within the meaning of Section 2 of the Forest Act. 
• It further underlined that once a land is covered under Section 2 of the Forest Act, whether the special orders under Section 4 continue to be in force or not, it shall continue to remain forest land.

• The court’s ruling will mean around 30,000 hectares across the Aravallis and Shivaliks in Haryana will be considered forest land. “ 
• Reading the two provisions together, the top court ruled that the rationale behind issuance of special orders under Section 4 of PLPA makes it clear that such areas must be protected as forest.
• Section 2 of the Forest Act imposes prohibitions on the de-reservation of forests or use of forest land for non-forest purposes without prior approval of the central government.
• The  bench said that when the state government is satisfied that deforestation of a forest area forming part of a larger area is likely to lead to erosion of soil, the power under Section 4 can be exercised. 
• Therefore, it follows that the specific land in respect of which a special order under Section 4 of PLPA has been issued will have all the trappings of a forest governed by the Forest Act.
• It noted that while the land notified under the special orders of Section 4 of PLPA shall be forest lands, not all land under PLPA will ipso facto become forest lands within the meaning of the Forest Act.

Further reading: https://journalsofindia.com/aravalli-range/

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