Why in the news?
- The Union Environment Ministry’s Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) has suggested streamlining and standardising the penal provisions imposed for violations under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980.
Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980
- What is it?: It was passed under Article 252 of the Indian Constitution to curb deforestation and ensure judicious use of forest land for non-forest purposes.
- Key Provisions:
- Defines Forest land as well as Non-Forest Use:
- Forest land includes reserved, protected, and any area recorded as forest in government records.
- Non-forest purposes include cultivation, mining, or any construction activity unrelated to forest conservation.
- Prior approval of the Central Government is mandatory for:
- De-reservation of reserved forests.
- Use of forest land for non-forest purposes.
- Assignment of forest land to private persons or corporations.
- Clearing of naturally grown trees for reforestation.
- An Advisory Committee is constituted by the Central government-
- Grant of approval for forest land diversion.
- Measures for forest conservation and regeneration.
- Penality
- Violation of provisions may lead to imprisonment up to 15 days or fine, or both.
- Defines Forest land as well as Non-Forest Use:
- Latest FAC Recommendations:
- Rationalisation and uniformity in the penal provisions applied for violations of the Act, to reduce inconsistency in how different cases are penalised.
- Penal compensatory afforestation (CA) should be charged in addition to monetary penalties (under the Act/Rules) and in a manner proportional to the area of forest land involved in the violation.
- When no other penal provisions apply, the FAC suggested that penal CA equivalent to twice the area of forest land used in violation could be appropriate.
- In cases of violations, the state government should submit a detailed violation report to the regional ministry office, including the nature of the violation, names of responsible persons, and actions taken.