The Dongria Kondh tribe, one of 13 particularly vulnerable tribal groups in Odisha, fought a historic winning battle to save its ecology from bauxite mining operations in the Niyamgiri hill range from 2004 to 2013. Now, the tribe may face another challenge to prevent diversion of community-owned forest land.
Experts working in the forestry sector have sounded an alarm around the proposals of the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill (FCA), 2023. The Bill has received the approval of the Joint Parliamentary Committee and was passed in the Lok Sabha, in the ongoing Monsoon Session. The new legislation may open a window for government agencies to divert land not classified as ‘forest’ in government records to other purposes.
“One of the important amendments in the FCA-2023 is altering the definition of ‘forest’ set by the Supreme Court of India in 1996. The amendment Bill proposes that the FCA-2023 would be applicable only to the forest or plots that have been notified as ‘forest’ according to the Indian Forest Act, 1927; and plots or areas recorded as ‘forest’ in government records on or after October 25, 1980,” said Bhubaneswar-based Manohar Chauhan, an expert on the implementation of the Forest Rights Act.
