Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 tramples upon rights of people
in interest of corporates & business houses : NEFIS
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, August 03 2023: The North-East Forum for International Solidarity (NEFIS) has strongly condemned the Central Government for recently passing the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 in the Parliament.

In a release, NEFIS alleged that the act is anti-people and rides roughshod over the rights of the communities living in or dependent on the forest areas in the interest of the corporates and business houses.

NEFIS stated that the Bill creates the scope for large-scale conversion of forest land into non-forestry use while providing easy access to corporate houses.

It continued that while the economic activities of the local population are sought to be curtailed, the Bill gives blanket exemptions to the existing stringent provisions of the FCA.

"For instance, land situated within 100 km along the international borders, the Line of Control, or the Line of Actual Control is proposed to be used for the construction of strategic linear projects of national importance and concerning national security.

This means a significant diversion of forest lands in the untouched areas of the Eastern Himalayas, which are rich in biodiversity and natural resources", it added.

Highlighting that the North-East states share borders with Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Tibet, and China, NEFIS claimed that the Bill is likely to affect nearly 90 percent of Nagaland's territory, which lies within 100 kilometres of the international border, much of Arunachal and Assam; and the entire region of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, and Tripura.

"Moreover, the Forest Rights Act, 2006 which provides for the consent of the Scheduled Tribe and other traditional forest-dwelling communities before any diversification is made of the forest areas, will be superseded by the Bill when it becomes an Act", it added.

The Forum also asserted that the Bill enables the forest land to be diversified and cleared for so-called developmental purposes without the prerequisite of obtaining the consent of the affected communities.

Demanding immediate rollback of the Bill, NEFIS further cautioned that the forum would be intensifying movement against this anti-people Bill in the coming days.

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