India’s paper industry says access to forest land alone will not guarantee raw material supply
State governments will decide how plantations are approved and implemented under the new rules
Distance from mills, soil quality and land size are key to commercial viability
Competition from other wood-based industries could limit fibre availability for paper producers
The success of plantations will depend on execution, safeguards and local governance
The recent amendment to India’s forest conservation law has opened the door for commercial plantations on forest land, a move the pulp and paper industry has long sought as a response to chronic raw material shortages.
The amendment to the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 — earlier the Forest Conservation Act — was notified by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) on January 6, 2026. It allows private entities to undertake commercial plantations in forest areas without paying long-standing environmental levies such as Net Present Value (NPV) and Compensatory Afforestation (CA).
While industry leaders describe the change as a potential lifeline for a sector grappling with rising imports and underutilised capacity, the amendment alone will not guarantee access to wood. Its impact, they say, will depend on how states interpret and implement the new rules.
Rohit Pandit, secretary general of the Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA), told Down To Earth (DTE) that it was too early to estimate the benefits of the amendment, as implementation rests largely with state governments.
Under the revised law, states and union territories have discretion to design frameworks governing how forest land may be used for plantations, including revenue-sharing arrangements, on a case-by-case basis.
Afforestation and plantations are to be approved through Detailed Project Reports (DPR), prepared in line with working plan provisions approved by a competent authority. These DPRs must specify the area to be covered, the species proposed, plantation activities and sustainable harvest levels.
Beyond policy clarity, commercial viability will hinge on physical and ecological factors. Proximity to mills would be critical, according to Pandit, as transporting wood over long distances significantly raises costs. Plantations located more than 150 kilometres from paper mills could become economically unviable, he said.
Soil quality and land size will also determine feasibility. “We would require large parcels of land together rather than scattered plots,” Pandit said. “The land must be free from encroachment, and the soil should have certain fertility levels.”
Pavan Khaitan, vice-president of IPMA, said uncertainty remains over how much wood the pulp and paper sector would ultimately secure, even if access to forest land improves. “Much of the wood grown is consumed by plywood and other wood-based industries. Only a part of it is used by paper manufacturers,” he said. “Access to degraded forests becomes crucial for land availability and strengthening fibre security, but how much will eventually come to the pulp and paper industry is yet to be seen.”
India remains a fibre-deficient country despite being the world’s third-largest paper producer. Domestic wood availability is estimated at around nine million tonnes a year against demand of about 11 million tonnes, according to IPMA.
Khaitan said India’s geography limits the cultivation of softwood species, leaving the industry dependent largely on hardwood, which typically forms only about five per cent of the raw material mix. “The move should help reduce the operational costs and reduce the gap between supply and demand,” he said.
With an annual wood deficit of nearly two million tonnes, Khaitan said high-yield plantation species such as eucalyptus that can be harvested in about five years could begin easing shortages within five to seven years if implemented at scale.
Jay Deepak Shah, chief executive and managing partner at Jay Wood Industry, said easing restrictions on managed plantations could improve visibility across the timber supply chain. “Improved access to responsibly sourced, plantation-grown wood can help industries move away from fragmented procurement and towards more stable supply models,” he told DTE.
However, Shah cautioned that outcomes would depend on disciplined execution. “Plantations must be developed using scientific forestry practices, with appropriate species selection and oversight, to ensure they complement natural forests rather than displace them,” he said.
Transparency at the state level and respect for local communities would also be essential to avoid unintended consequences, he added. If these safeguards are upheld, Shah said, the amendment could support responsible industry growth while strengthening renewable raw material availability.