Reading 2021 NCRB report: Jump in forest-related crimes in Jharkhand

The number of cases registered for environment-related offences inched up in 2021 compared to the previous year, according to National Crime Records Bureau’s crime in India report.

A total of 64,471 environmental-related crimes took place across the country, marking an increase of 4.4 per cent over 2020.

Environment-related offences include violations of:

• The Forest Act, 1927
• The Forest Conservation Act, 1980
• The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972
• The Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986
• The Air and The Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act
• The Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003
• The Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000
• National Green Tribunal Act, 2010

Maximum number of cases in the environment category were registered under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (54024 cases), followed by the Forest Conservation Act (2292 cases).

The remaining five categories have shown a decline in offences compared to 2020. The offences registered for violating the National Green Tribunal (NGT) Act,have decreased by nearly 92 per cent.

Over a year, the cases registered under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 declined by over 8 per cent.

Offences under Forest Act

Most cases under the Forest Act were reported from 12 states — Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Bihar, Assam and Uttar Pradesh.

Ten states have registered a decline in cases violating Forest Act. They are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya and Telangana.

Four states — Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh — accounted for 85 per cent of the cases registered under the Forest Act.

Of these, the crimes related to forests increased by nearly 83 per cent in Jharkhand, followed by Uttar Pradesh.

Jharkhand reported 265 cases related to Forest Act in 2021, registering an increase of 82.76 per cent compared to 2020. 

A closer look at the state-wise trends of the last 10 years reveals that the state has been placing third or fourth in terms of forest-related offences.

Jharkhand registered the maximum number of crimes under the Forest Act since 2012. After a marked decline in 2019 to just 71 cases, these crimes have been on the rise. In 2020, these cases in the state increased by 104 per cent.

Uttar Pradesh, with the most forest-related crimes in the country, failed to control it and recorded 1318 cases, compared to 1317 in 2020. But Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh recorded a decrease in such cases.

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