NEW DELHI: The Union Environment Ministry has asked states and union territories to start the process of digital delimitation of forests in line with its order in a 2011 case in a move it expects to help address issues like misclassification of forest areas, preventing encroachments and resolving overlapping claims under the Forest Rights Act 2006.
Case: Lafarge Umiam Mining Company Limited. Ltd. vs. Union of India & Ors took up environmental clearance conditions for limestone mining in Meghalaya and the matter addressed a number of issues related to environmental management in India. It ordered the establishment and regular updating of a GIS-based decision support database with forest coordinates as specified in the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980; The core, buffer and ecologically sensitive area of protected areas constituted in accordance with the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972; Important migration corridors for wildlife; and conversion of forest land in the past.
Since 2011, Odisha alone has completed more than 90% of the regularization and digitization process, according to environment ministry officials. “States and union territories such as Assam, Andaman and Nicobar, Uttarakhand, UT, Jharkhand, Bihar, Meghalaya, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra are at various stages of implementing the process of settlement and digitalization of forest boundaries in forest lands in their respective jurisdictions,” a senior official said in response to Hizb ut-Tahrir’s queries. To address the delay in compliance with the UN Security Council order on forest demarcation, the ministry organized a workshop on April 10 with the participation of all states and union territories.
“The above provision (2011) directed all States/Union Territories to establish a GIS-based decision support database of geo-referenced forest lands and update it regularly. Despite this unequivocal direction, a large number of States/Union Territories are yet to show meaningful progress even after more than fourteen years. Historically, forest boundaries have been recorded using traverse drawings and non-geo-referenced maps, resulting in misclassification of forest areas, and encroachments that cannot tracking them, overlapping claims under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, and difficulties in implementing the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. The demarcation process will also mean finalization of ‘deemed forests’ or areas fulfilling the dictionary meaning of forest as held by the Supreme Court in T N Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India and Others in the judgment dated December 12, 1996, which is a process,” the ministry said in a note dated April 10. Many areas have not yet implemented it fully.
The states and union territories can demand funding for this process from the funds of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), she said, adding that CAMPA will undertake the task of providing technical, financial and administrative support to the states and union territories to accomplish the demarcation of forest areas.
“This initiative will enable accurate identification of all forest lands regardless of their legal notification status, and strengthen monitoring of forest conversions and compensatory afforestation sites. It will further protect customary and legal rights, and ensure compliance with Supreme Court mandates and the National Forest Policy,” the ministry added.
Siddhanta Das, chairman of the SC’s empowered central committee, which is advising the ministry on the demarcation process, said the process could be costly and time-consuming. “To manage forest resources effectively, it is very important for forest departments to know their boundaries. This process may be a bit expensive and time-consuming, but it is not only legally binding but also necessary. However, it is very important that this demarcation process is carried out in collaboration with the revenue department to make the demarcated boundaries have a strong legal backing.”
“CAMPA plantations have been found to continue to impact the land and forest rights of local communities and biodiversity across states. Some plantation projects are being implemented under the Annual Operating Plan (APO) without any FRA compliance and without obtaining approval from Gram Sabhas – a mandatory legal requirement under FRA. In recent years, setting up of land banks in states to implement CAMPA has led to the transfer of forests and common lands on which communities were dependent for their livelihoods and rights. These issues need to be addressed,” said Tushar, a researcher. Independent and expert in forest rights law.
