A cursory examination of most forest land diversion cases post-1980 reveals a lackadaisical approach on the part of the authorities concerned in respect of notification of non-forest lands as reserved forests as mandated in the conditions of approvals of diversion of forest land.
The landmark Forest Conservation Act of 1980 provided ample scope for the conservation of precious forest resources while putting down the indiscriminate use of forests. To ensure balance between development and sustainability of environment, the Government permitted the use of forests for various non-forest purposes under certain conditions, including the provision of equivalent non-forest land for compensating loss of forest by way of planting in equivalent non-forest land. One of the main purposes behind this condition was to compensate for the depleting forest cover resulting from diversion of forest land.
As per one study, nearly 14,000 sq.km of forest lands have been diverted for various non-forestry purposes since 1980 in the country and, barring a few categories of works like those related to public utility up to a certain extent, use by Central or State government for various projects of national importance etc, all other categories of diversion have been permitted under the mandatory condition of handing over equal non-forest land and its notification as reserved forests.
A cursory examination of most forest land diversion cases post-1980 reveals a lackadaisical approach on the part of the authorities concerned in respect of notification of non-forest lands as reserved forests as mandated in the conditions of approvals of diversion of forest land. The ever-increasing scarcity of land, and its skyrocketing market value, coupled with poor monitoring of the progress of notification and lack of priority among forest and revenue authorities, have also resulted in the neglect of this important aspect of notification of non-forest land as reserved forests.
In the absence of effective demarcation and legal instrument of notification, coupled with huge demand for land, especially in growing cities, to meet the challenges of rapid economic growth and other infra needs, many of these lands handed over to forest staff are subject to problems of encroachment, counterclaims by revenue and other agencies etc. In most of the State Forest departments, the notification and related tasks are considered less attractive or even a punishment posting compared to other tasks, due to which they do not get the required attention.
Telangana stands out
The new Indian state of Telangana has accorded environmental conservation and protection as one of the top priorities and launched a flagship programme ‘Telangana Ku Haritha Haram’ aiming to increase the forest cover to 33 %. In addition to various proactive policy changes, the notification of forest blocks was also given equal importance by the government. Another highlight of this notification was adopting land description using the geo-coordinates taken using a state-of-the-art DGNSS survey thereby providing an accurate, foolproof and modern method of land demarcation.
In many states, this is being done in a very formal and routine manner without accuracy and proper description of the land, which makes these lands prone to manipulation and likelihood of being exploited by people for their benefits. From 1996-2016, 14 blocks were notified for an extent of 498.54 hectares, while the Telangana government after its formation, in 2016 notified 103 blocks covering 3501.23 ha over seven years. There are 18 blocks covering 1631.67 ha which are likely to be notified shortly. Showing its equal commitment and concern towards conservation of forests and this neglected aspect of notification of non-forest land nearly 5,132 hectares or 12,676 acres of area has been protected legally.
As per the recently released State of Forest Reports of Forest Survey of India, Telangana registered a remarkable increase of 6.85 per cent in its forest cover from 2015 to 2021.This timely notification of land, based on latest technology, is providing availability of dispute-free and legally supported land for talking up tree planting of various species under the Compensatory Afforestation programme to the forest department. This will help the Telangana to continue its mission to further increase its green cover in addition to improving the biodiversity of local regions.
(The author is a senior IFS Officer Telangana. He tweets as @pargaien Views are personal)
