• 9964432222
  • Mail Us
  • Appointment
  • Locate Us
  • Chat Now
  • Courses
  • Login
  • Register
Manifest IAS
JournalsOfIndia
Manifest Learning Academy
  • Home
  • SNIPPETSfor Prelims
  • ARTICLESfor Mains
  • BROWSEBY SOURCE
  • DOWNLOADS
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • SNIPPETSfor Prelims
  • ARTICLESfor Mains
  • BROWSEBY SOURCE
  • DOWNLOADS
No Result
View All Result
JournalsOfIndia
No Result
View All Result
Home Environment

Draft Indian forest Act 2019

May 17, 2019
in Environment
Reading Time: 5 mins read
0
608
VIEWS
Share on WhatsAppShare on TelegramShare on Facebook
image_pdfMake PDF

Manifest Pedagogy

Whenever a new law or draft law comes there’s a general trend of asking the changes in the archaic law. There one needs to prepare for the positives and negatives of the amendments. Handful provisions have to be remembered to get more marks in Mains and prelims.

In news

Draft Indian forest Act 2019

Placing it in the syllabus

Environment-Conservation

Static dimensions

  • Forests Rights act 1927

Current dimensions

  • Provisions of Draft Indian forest Act 2019
  • Comparison between Forests Rights act 1927 and Draft Indian forest Act 2019

Content

Forests Rights act 1927

The 1927 Indian Forest Act was an act to consolidate forest laws, the transit of forest products and duties that could be levied on ‘ Forest Product’. The act deals with reserved forest, village forest, protected forest, control over forests and lands not being property of government, the duty on timber and other forest produce, regulation transit of forest products, collection of timber, penalties and procedures, cattle – trespass, forest officers and other miscellaneous provisions.

This act does not stipulate a specific forest definition. The act sets out three categories of forests, such as reserve forest, protected forest, and village forest

Provisions of Draft Indian forest Act 2019

The proposed draft act replaces the colonial act of 1927, following are the provisions of proposed act;

  • Power to prosecute: The draft act enhances the policing and quasi-judicial powers that the forest officials enjoyed under the original act and provide them yet more. This includes powers to use firearms with exceptional levels of immunity from prosecution.
  • Management powers:  It also proposes to restore higher management powers and a degree of veto power with the forest bureaucracy over the Forest Rights Act, 2006. Forest officials would be able to deny or extinguish rights over traditional forests of tribals, even those already recognised under the FRA, reduce or restrict tribals and forest dwellers’ access to forest produce (which they own under the FRA), and diminish the role of gram sabhas (village assemblies) by running a parallel system of “village forests” in which forest officials would have the last say.
  • Intervention by centre: According to the draft law Centre will be able to intervene in the states on matters of management of forestlands, overruling the states on several counts when it deems fit.
  • Allow for commercial plantations: Further, the law proposes to open any patch of forests it deems fit for commercial plantations through either the forest administration or through private agencies.
  • Infrastructure by state and UTs: the act has mentions that The “State Government / Union Territory Administration shall develop the infrastructure for standardized lock-up rooms for housing the accused, transportation of accused, provide necessary articles for restraining the accused(s), armouries, safe custody of arms, ammunitions, shields, batons, helmets, armours, wireless, etc. to the Forest-officers for implementing the provisions of this Act” in each forest division of the country within two years.
  • Offences: The draft act proposes certain offences that were bailable earlier have been proposed to be made non-bailable.
  • Power to use arms: The draft law also proposes, “to provide indemnity to Forest-officer using arms etc, to prevent the forest offence. This indemnity shall be in addition to the immunity provided under section 197 of Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 for certain categories of Public Servant”.
  • Immunity: It also proposes immunity which is  higher than what other government officers are usually provided under various laws and similar to one provided under laws imposed in conflict zones, such as the Armed Forces (Special Powers Act). according to this No Forest-officer shall be arrested for any offence alleged to have been committed or purported to have been committed in discharge of his official duties, without causing out an inquiry by an authority to be notified by the State Government for the purpose.

As per the provisions of the draft act even state governments would not be permitted to grant sanction for prosecution against forest officials for alleged wrong done or excess committed without first constituting an inquiry under an executive magistrate.

  • Additional power to forest officials: According to the provisions of the draft act which gives additional power to forest officials mentions, “Whoever attempts to contravene, or abets the contravention of, any of the provisions of this Act or of any rule of order made thereunder shall be deemed to have contravened that provision or rule or order, as the case may be. That any person, forest officer, any officer of the State Government cannot withdraw forest offence cases registered under the Principal Act.”
  • Production forest: The draft law proposes to create a new class of forests called ‘production forests’ as well as declare any forests as “conservation area for the purpose of enhanced carbon sequestration”. The conservation areas will also be opened to “active forest management for enhancing vegetational growth by reforestation and afforestation.”

Comparison between Forests Rights act 1927 and Draft Indian forest Act 2019

  • The Indian Forest Act, 1927, is an incongruous relic, its provisions having been drafted to suit the objectives of a colonial power that had extractive uses for forests in mind
  • The draft Bill reinforces the idea of bureaucratic control of forests, providing immunity for actions such as use of firearms by personnel to prevent an offence. The hardline policing approach is reflected in the emphasis on creating the infrastructure to detain and transport the accused, and to penalize entire communities through denial of access to forests for offences by individuals. The colonial act of 1927 also mentions bureaucratic control over forest and hardline policing.
  • The Indian Forest Act, 1927 which the British rulers imposed to take over Indian forests, used them to produce timber, curtailed the rights of millions.  The new draft law which replaced the colonial law has not only retained but also enhances policing and quasi-judicial powers that the forest officials enjoyed under the original act and provide them yet more. This includes powers to use firearms with exceptional levels of immunity from prosecution.
  • Like the act of 1927, the proposed draft act also gives providing immense discretion and powers to the forest bureaucracy.
  • Like the forest act of 1927, the draft act also mentions a colonial provision of collective punishment of communities for crimes committed by individuals under the forest law. The clause reads, “Whenever a fire is caused wilfully or by gross negligence in a reserved forest, or theft of forest produce or grazing by cattle occu the State Government may direct that in such forest or any portion thereof, the exercise of all rights of pasture or to forest-produce shall be suspended for such a period as it may think fit.”

 

image_pdfMake PDF
Tags: GS-3Mains

Related Posts

Ban on single use plastics

Ban on single use plastics

July 1, 2022
India Forum for Nature-based Solutions

India Forum for Nature-based Solutions

July 1, 2022
EU’s Nature Restoration Law

EU’s Nature Restoration Law

June 30, 2022
Oceans Great Dying 2.0

Oceans Great Dying 2.0

June 29, 2022
Menar bird village to be declared wetland

Menar bird village to be declared wetland

June 28, 2022
Kerala to have its own Red list of Birds

Kerala to have its own Red list of Birds

June 28, 2022
Global Environment Facility (GEF)

Global Environment Facility (GEF)

June 27, 2022
Spiny Horntail Dragonfly

Spiny Horntail Dragonfly

June 24, 2022
4 Coral Species Recorded For First Time In Indian Waters

4 Coral Species Recorded For First Time In Indian Waters

June 24, 2022
New species of bamboo-dwelling bat found in Meghalaya

New species of bamboo-dwelling bat found in Meghalaya

June 22, 2022
Please login to join discussion

Our Offline Classroom Student

PRELIMS 2021 POLITY QUESTIONS ANALYSED

https://youtu.be/5q8hBcRGhAs

PRELIMS 2021 HISTORY QUESTIONS ANALYSED

https://youtu.be/v0SIZ7SUybg

CONGRATULATIONS TO 2021 TOPPERS !!!

Rank 171 Kumar Shivashish
Rank 250 Sahithya
Rank 263 Sumit Kumar Thakur
Rank 311 Deepak Ramachandra Shet
Rank 455 Ravinandan B M

July 2022
MTWTFSS
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Jun    

Browse by Category

  • Agriculture
  • Disaster Management
  • Economy
  • Environment
  • Ethics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Geography
  • Governance
  • History
  • Law & Policy
  • Opinion
  • People in News
  • Places in News
  • Science & Tech
  • Security
  • Society
  • Sports
  • Uncategorized

Browse by Tags

AIR BBC Business Standard CNN Deccan Herald DownToEarth Down to Earth DTE Economic Times ET GS-1 GS-2 GS-3 GS-4 Hindustan Times IE India & the world Indian express India today Indiatoday Kurukshetra LiveMint Mains News Newspaper News Paper PIB PIB & The Hindu pre Prelims PRS India RSTV Science Reporter Survey The Hindu The Hindustan Times The India Express The Indian Express The New Indian Express Times of India TOI TOPPERS UNDP website Wikipedia Yojana
JournalsOfIndia

Our vision is to orient the readers to grasp the facts objectively and analyse critically. In the rush of reaching first to the readers, the websites miss the balanced opinion, which is the need of the hour. We aim to reach the readers with more crispness, preciseness and relevance. We bring the articles in UPSC way for the civil services aspirants and the Wisest Way for general readers.

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Disaster Management
  • Economy
  • Environment
  • Ethics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Geography
  • Governance
  • History
  • Law & Policy
  • Opinion
  • People in News
  • Places in News
  • Science & Tech
  • Security
  • Society
  • Sports
  • Uncategorized

Browse by Tag

AIR BBC Business Standard CNN Deccan Herald DownToEarth Down to Earth DTE Economic Times ET GS-1 GS-2 GS-3 GS-4 Hindustan Times IE India & the world Indian express India today Indiatoday Kurukshetra LiveMint Mains News Newspaper News Paper PIB PIB & The Hindu pre Prelims PRS India RSTV Science Reporter Survey The Hindu The Hindustan Times The India Express The Indian Express The New Indian Express Times of India TOI TOPPERS UNDP website Wikipedia Yojana

Newsletter

The most important UPSC news and events of the day.

Get Journals daily newsletter on your inbox.

© 2020 JournalsOfIndia - A free initiative by Manifest Team.

  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Home
  • SNIPPETS
  • ARTICLES
  • BROWSE
  • DOWNLOADS
No Result
View All Result

© 2020 JournalsOfIndia - A free initiative by Manifest Team.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In