Is There A Need To Redefine Forests?

The annual report of the environment ministry for the year 2015-16 starts with a note of caution — “Only after the last tree has been cut down, the last river has been poisoned, the last fish caught, only then we will find the money cannot be eaten”. The 244-page report stated the challenges the ministry would face in the times to come to maintain the ecological balance vis-à-vis human intervention.

The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, that aims to "conserve the country's forests" also "strictly restricts and regulates the de-reservation of forests or use of forest land for non-forest purposes", unless you have a prior approval from the Centre. If that was not enough, it's a lengthy process you have to follow if you plan to carry out any development activity on the forest land. To begin with, the 23-page form that you have to fill, if you want an approval from the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF) to develop forest land, should be discouraging enough.

Things get more complicated if this land is inhabited by scheduled tribes (STs). The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, clearly states the rights of these dwellers over the land and the process to rehabilitate them would be like treading a tightrope.

However, the need for housing and doing other business activities seems so pressing that authorities and developers relentlessly use forests for 'non-forest' purposes.

In the wake of reckless deforestation, the Central government recently decided to redefine 'forest'.

The new meaning may exclude large tracts of the Aravali Range from within its ambit. This means the scrub forest tracts along the range that have a crown cover of less than 10 per cent will be open for development. It is to be noted that the Aravalis, which start form Gujarat and end in Delhi, receive scanty rainfall. This is the reason why the area may be redefined as a scrub forest is highly probable. If the proposal gets nod, much of the hills falling in Haryana and Rajasthan could be open for development. As a matter of fact, the ministry, responsible for the "implementation of policies and programmes relating to conservation of the country's natural resources", is guided by the principle of sustainable development and enhancement of human well-being.

The move may bring cheer for Gujarat, Haryana and Rajasthan, which have been clamouring for more land to accommodate teeming millions. It may also lead to increased mining in eco-fragile zone. This may sound good as the country needs more resources which can be extracted from the bowels of earth to build more concrete jungles.

However, what remains to be answered is from where we began. What will happen when the last tree is cut? Scrubs in this case. 

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