National Commission for Scheduled Tribes on the Forest Conservation Rules of 2022

(MainsGS2:Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.)

Context:

• Recently, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes has now secured FRA implementation reports of all States and Union Territories by invoking its Constitutional powers to directly approach the Supreme Court of India.

Caught in a row:

• The ST Commission is caught in a row with the Union Environment Ministry over the latest Forest Conservation Rules (FCR), 2022. 
• The row is over the potential violation of provisions enshrined in the Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 dubbed the Forest Rights Act (FRA).
• The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change in June 2022, notified the Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2022, which prescribed the mechanism for the diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes. 

Infringement on the rights:

• Within two months of the FCR, 2022 coming into force, the NCST constituted a “Working Group on the Forest Rights Act 2006 & other issues related to the Forest and Scheduled Tribes” to monitor the implementation of the FRA and “make recommendations to the Union government and State governments”. 
• The NCST concluded that the new FCR infringed on the rights of STs and other traditional forest dwellers (OTFDs) by violating the FRA.
• According to the FRA, 2006, in case of a dispute over forest land, precedence has to be given to the rights of STs and OTFDs, who live in and off the forest and its resources, over any other party.

About Forest Conservation Rules:

• The Forest Conservation Rules deal with the implementation of the Forest Conservation Act (FCA), 1980. 
• They prescribe the procedure to be followed for forest land to be diverted for non-forestry uses such as road construction, highway development, railway lines, and mining.
• The broad aims of the Forest Conservation Act are to protect forest and wildlife, put brakes on State governments’ attempts to hive off forest land for commercial projects and striving to increase the area under forests.
• For forest land beyond five hectares, approval for diverting land must be given by the Central government via a specially constituted committee, called the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC).
• This committee examines whether the user agency, or those who have requested forest land, have made a convincing case for the upheaval of that specific parcel of land, whether they have a plan in place to ensure that the ensuing damage will be minimal and the said piece of land doesn’t cause damage to wildlife habitat.
• Once the FAC is convinced and approves (or rejects a proposal), it is forwarded to the concerned State government where the land is located, who then has to ensure that provisions of the Forest Right Act, 2006, a separate Act that protects the rights of forest dwellers and tribals over their land, are complied with.
• The FAC approval also means that the future users of the land must provide compensatory land for afforestation as well as pay the net present value (ranging between ₹10-15 lakh per hectare.)

The updated rules:

• The latest version of the rules, which consolidates changes to the Act over the years from various amendments and court ruling, was made public on June 28, 2022.
• These amended rules have omitted a clause (present in 2014 and 2017 Rules) that explicitly required any proposal to mandatorily have the consent of local tribespeople and other traditional forest dwellers (OTFDs) of the area, before proceeding for Stage 1 clearance. 
• The FCR, 2022 has allowed applying entities to go for the consent of locals, represented by the Gram Sabha, after Stage 1 or even after Stage 2 clearance.
• The new rules, according to the Centre, “streamline” the process of approvals. 
• The rules make a provision for private parties to cultivate plantations and sell them as land to companies who need to meet compensatory afforestation targets.
• This, according to the government, will help India increase forest cover as well as solve the problems of the States of not finding land within their jurisdiction for compensatory purposes. 
• While this has invited its own controversy, the latest point of contention is the absence of wording, in the updated Forest Conservation Rules, of what happens to tribals and forest-dwelling communities whose land would be hived off for developmental work.
• Prior to the updated rules, state bodies would forward documents to the FAC that would also include information on the status of whether the forest rights of locals in the area were settled.

Conclusion:

• Forest rights, individual and collective, as part of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) were put in place to correct the injustice meted out by forest governance laws in recognising forest-dependent livelihoods.