Subscribe
The central government has issued a statement clarifying its stance on the allegations of ‘subversion of the forest rights act’.
As many as 151 civil society members had submitted a representation to the central government raising concerns about its stance on protection of Forest Rights of the citizens.
In a statement published on microblogging site X (formerly Twitter), the Union Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) said the letter reflects a gross misunderstanding of the facts and assured it remained committed to protecting forests, India’s green cover and forest-dwelling communities dependent on it.
“The statement is about the net increase in the forest cover in the country as per the latest State of Forest Report, wherein degradation in some forest areas has also been observed due to variety of reasons. Further, the statement underlines that such degradation in the forest cover can be addressed by adopting protection measures which are implemented with effective community involvement,” it stated.
The ministry said the context of the statement about increase in forest cover and its association with reducing degradation of forest through active involvement of the local community, forest departments and the government ignores its stand of “Whole of government and whole of society”, which has been totally undermined, overlooked and misrepresented.
It noted that the ministry has been making concerted efforts to improve green cover and ensure sustainability for forest dependent communities.
The statement indicated that the minister’s remarks were significantly distorted and that it pertained to the overall rise in forest cover in the nation according to the recent State of Forest Report, which also noted deterioration in certain forest regions due to various factors.
On the other hand, the sincere efforts of the ministry in ensuring involvement of community in forest management have also been deliberately overlooked. Recently, the minister initiated direct dialogue and interactions with the Tharu tribal community living around Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in Balera village of Uttar Pradesh and also with Soliga tribals in Karnataka ensuring their active involvement in management of tiger habitats and surrounding forest areas, both of which elicited a very good response, it said.
The ministry called the allegations of MoEFCC submitting legally untenable data on encroachment “totally incorrect, unfounded” and added that they do not hold any merit.
It explained that the point quoted about relocation of villages from core areas of tiger reserves is devoid of merit and is a misrepresentation of facts. “The voluntary relocation of villages is a key strategy in India's wildlife conservation efforts which is focussed on improving livelihoods of relocated communities by providing better infrastructure and services and carried out by the respective State Governments under their close supervision and monitoring. It is governed by the provisions of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and Forest Rights Act, 2006 and follows the procedures laid down in both the Acts,” the ministry said.
About allegation that Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam has been amended, subverting the legitimacy of institutional authorities, the statement said the allegation was made without an in-depth knowledge and understanding of its various provisions, the factual position and its implementation. It stated that the amendment was done as per the provisions of the constitution.