New Delhi: More than 100 former civil servants, members of the Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG), have written to all members of parliament in India expressing their concern with the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023. The group has said they are worried both by the contents of the Bill and the process being followed in passing it.
“Procedurally, the Bill should have been referred to the Parliamentary Committee on science, technology, environment and forests, instead of being referred to a Select Committee, all the members of which, except one, belong to the ruling party, making the examination partisan and unsatisfactory,” the letter states.
“Besides the fact that the Bill seeks to overturn the praiseworthy Supreme Court judgment of 1996 in the Godavarman case (which, inter alia, defined forests as any piece of land that resembles the dictionary meaning of forest), one of its most damaging provisions is to allow forest lands within 100 kms. of the country’s borders to be used for ‘strategic linear projects of national importance and concerning national security’,” it continues.
Read the full text of the letter below.
§
Honourable MPs of the Lok Sabha,
Honourable MPs of the Rajya Sabha,
We are a group of former civil servants of the All India and Central Services who have worked with the Central and State Governments in the course of our careers. As a group, we have no affiliation with any political party but believe in impartiality, neutrality and commitment to the Constitution of India.
We are deeply perturbed by the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which was introduced in Parliament in March 2023 and is slated to be passed in the coming monsoon session. Our concerns are both about the content of the Bill as well as the procedure by which the Bill is being examined and passed.
Procedurally, the Bill should have been referred to the Parliamentary Committee on science, technology, environment and forests, instead of being referred to a Select Committee, all the members of which, except one, belong to the ruling party, making the examination partisan and unsatisfactory.
The historical reason for the passing of the Forest Conservation Act (FCA) in 1980, viz. to prevent deforestation, needs to be appreciated, before we discuss the present Bill. In the thirty years prior to 1980, about 4.2 million hectares of forest land were lost, being diverted for non-forestry purposes. In over forty years since the enactment of the FCA, 1980, only about 1.5 million hectares have been diverted. Even though the adverse impacts of climate change were not obvious in 1980, it is a testament to the sagacity of our lawmakers that they considered it critical to regulate the diversion of forest lands through the enactment of the FCA, 1980.
Unfortunately, in the last few years, despite the adverse impacts of climate change becoming increasingly obvious – the floods now sweeping north India are a glaring example – the diversion of forest lands has gathered pace. Between 2018-19 and 2022-23, almost 90,000 hectares of forest land have been diverted for non-forest use. The institutions of the Forest Advisory Committee and the Regional Empowered Committees, which are meant to regulate and minimise this diversion, have been ineffective. Hardly any proposal for diversion of forest land seems to be rejected! In 2020, alone, of the 367 proposals received for diversion of 14,855 hectares of forest land, only 3 proposals amounting to about 11 hectares were rejected!
This tendency of liberally giving away forest land for non-forest purposes, is now sought to be further strengthened through the FCA Amendment Bill. This Bill allows forest land, other than in protected areas, to be used for several non-forest purposes, viz. (i) defence related purposes within 100 kms. of the border of India; (ii) stretches of land alongside railway lines and highways; (iii) zoos and safaris owned by the government or any authority; (iv) eco-tourism facilities; (v) silvicultural operations (to enhance forest growth); and, most worryingly, (vi) any other purpose specified by the central government. The Bill also specifies that reconnaissance and prospecting surveys, among other surveying activities, may be undertaken, under conditions to be specified by the central government. One wonders what is the purpose of prospecting surveys? Does it mean that if any important minerals are found in dense forests, mining will be allowed? A recent print article mentions that diamond mining is proposed to be undertaken in the dense natural forests of Buxwaha, in Madhya Pradesh, even though this will endanger water availability in the region, and contribute to local as well as global warming. Permission for this mining project has been given even under the existing, stricter, Act. What will happen once the Act is amended, and permissions are granted freely?
The preamble of the Bill mentions that as a result of this Bill, forest and tree cover will be increased to create a carbon sink of an additional 2.5 to 3.0 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent, by 2030. It puts its faith, apparently, in compensatory afforestation. Such an expectation is unrealistic given the fact that large tracts of existing natural forests will be diverted for non-forest use. There are ample studies which suggest that natural forests are forty times more efficient as carbon sinks than newly planted forests. Moreover, the results of compensatory afforestation, as of today, have not been rosy. Between 2008 and 2019, an area equal to only 72% of the diverted forest area was brought under compensatory afforestation; moreover, 24% of this was on existing, but degraded, forest land.
It is important to remember that natural forests are important not only as carbon sinks but also because they harbour immensely precious flora and fauna. India is one of only 17 megadiverse countries in the world with more than 5000 endemic species of plants and animals. This myopic Bill threatens all of this biodiversity.
Besides the fact that the Bill seeks to overturn the praiseworthy Supreme Court judgment of 1996 in the Godavarman case (which, inter alia, defined forests as any piece of land that resembles the dictionary meaning of forest), one of its most damaging provisions is to allow forest lands within 100 kms. of the country’s borders to be used for ‘strategic linear projects of national importance and concerning national security’. This 100 km. stretch would cover all the north-eastern States and would include Sikkim and Uttarakhand – states which have the highest forest cover in the country and are also biodiversity hotspots.
The preamble of the Bill also mentions that it will “enhance forest based economic, social and environmental benefits, including improvement of livelihoods of forest dependent communities”. One of the main Acts which supports forest dependent communities is the Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2006. The current Bill does not contain any provision to protect the rights granted under the FRA; nor does it mention whether the provisions of the Bill are in conflict or conformity with the provisions of the FRA. For example, what happens if the lands, on which one or more forest communities depend, are leased out for eco-tourism or safari parks or used for defence installations? This conflict was observed by Mr Harsh Chauhan, until recently the Chairman of the National Commission on Scheduled Tribes; he resigned, reportedly, because his request that the Bill be deferred was not accepted by the government. It is apparent that far from protecting forest dependent communities, the Bill may actually threaten their livelihoods and their lives.
Article 48A of the Constitution says that “the State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country”. It is apparent that the FCA Amendment Bill will do just the opposite.
The Amendment Bill is replete with flaws and is totally misleading. We urge you not to pass it in its present form as it will nullify the very Act it seeks to amend, and will prove to be the last nail in the coffin for the existing forest resources of the country.
SATYAMEVA JAYATE
Constitutional Conduct Group (105 signatories)
| 1. | Anita Agnihotri | IAS (Retd.) | Former Secretary, Department of Social Justice Empowerment, GoI |
| 2. | Salahuddin Ahmad | IAS (Retd.) | Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Rajasthan |
| 3. | Anand Arni | RAS (Retd.) | Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, GoI |
| 4. | Mohinderpal Aulakh | IPS (Retd.) | Former Director General of Police (Jails), Govt. of Punjab |
| 5. | J.L. Bajaj | IAS (Retd.) | Former Chairman, Administrative Reforms and Decentralisation Commission, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh |
| 6. | Vappala Balachandran | IPS (Retd.) | Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, GoI |
| 7. | Gopalan Balagopal | IAS (Retd.) | Former Special Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal |
| 8. | Chandrashekar Balakrishnan | IAS (Retd.) | Former Secretary, Coal, GoI |
| 9. | Sushant Baliga | Engineering Services (Retd.) | Former Additional Director General, Central PWD, GoI |
| 10. | Rana Banerji | RAS (Retd.) | Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, GoI |
| 11. | Sharad Behar | IAS (Retd.) | Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh |
| 12. | Aurobindo Behera | IAS (Retd.) | Former Member, Board of Revenue, Govt. of Odisha |
| 13. | Madhu Bhaduri | IFS (Retd.) | Former Ambassador to Portugal |
| 14. | K.V. Bhagirath | IFS (Retd.) | Former Secretary General, Indian Ocean Rim Association, Mauritius |
| 15. | Pradip Bhattacharya | IAS (Retd.) | Former Additional Chief Secretary, Development & Planning and Administrative Training Institute, Govt. of West Bengal |
| 16. | Ravi Budhiraja | IAS (Retd.) | Former Chairman, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, GoI |
| 17. | Sundar Burra | IAS (Retd.) | Former Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra |
| 18. | R. Chandramohan | IAS (Retd.) | Former Principal Secretary, Transport and Urban Development, Govt. of NCT of Delhi |
| 19. | Rachel Chatterjee | IAS (Retd.) | Former Special Chief Secretary, Agriculture, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh |
| 20. | Kalyani Chaudhuri | IAS (Retd.) | Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal |
| 21. | Gurjit Singh Cheema | IAS (Retd.) | Former Financial Commissioner (Revenue), Govt. of Punjab |
| 22. | F.T.R. Colaso | IPS (Retd.) | Former Director General of Police, Govt. of Karnataka & former Director General of Police, Govt. of Jammu & Kashmir |
| 23. | Anna Dani | IAS (Retd.) | Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra |
| 24. | Surjit K. Das | IAS (Retd.) | Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Uttarakhand |
| 25. | Vibha Puri Das | IAS (Retd.) | Former Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, GoI |
| 26. | P.R. Dasgupta | IAS (Retd.) | Former Chairman, Food Corporation of India, GoI |
| 27. | Pradeep K. Deb | IAS (Retd.) | Former Secretary, Deptt. Of Sports, GoI |
| 28. | Nitin Desai | Former Chief Economic Adviser, Ministry of Finance, GoI | |
| 29. | M.G. Devasahayam | IAS (Retd.) | Former Secretary, Govt. of Haryana |
| 30. | Sushil Dubey | IFS (Retd.) | Former Ambassador to Sweden |
| 31. | A.S. Dulat | IPS (Retd.) | Former OSD on Kashmir, Prime Minister’s Office, GoI |
| 32. | K.P. Fabian | IFS (Retd.) | Former Ambassador to Italy |
| 33. | Suresh K. Goel | IFS (Retd.) | Former Director General, Indian Council of Cultural Relations, GoI |
| 34. | H.S. Gujral | IFoS (Retd.) | Former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Govt. of Punjab |
| 35. | Meena Gupta | IAS (Retd.) | Former Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests, GoI |
| 36. | Ravi Vira Gupta | IAS (Retd.) | Former Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India |
| 37. | Wajahat Habibullah | IAS (Retd.) | Former Secretary, GoI and former Chief Information Commissioner |
| 38. | Deepa Hari | IRS (Resigned) | |
| 39. | Siraj Hussain | IAS (Retd.) | Former Secretary, Department of Agriculture, GoI |
| 40. | Kamal Jaswal | IAS (Retd.) | Former Secretary, Department of Information Technology, GoI |
| 41. | Sanjay Kaul | IAS (Retd.) | Former Principal Secretary, Govt. of Karnataka |
| 42. | Ajai Kumar | IFoS (Retd.) | Former Director, Ministry of Agriculture, GoI |
| 43. | Brijesh Kumar | IAS (Retd.) | Former Secretary, Department of Information Technology, GoI |
| 44. | Ish Kumar | IPS (Retd.) | Former DGP (Vigilance & Enforcement), Govt. of Telangana and former Special Rapporteur, National Human Rights Commission |
| 45. | Subodh Lal | IPoS (Resigned) | Former Deputy Director General, Ministry of Communications, GoI |
| 46. | Harsh Mander | IAS (Retd.) | Govt. of Madhya Pradesh |
| 47. | C.K. Mathew | IAS (Retd.) | Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Rajasthan |
| 48. | Amitabh Mathur | IPS (Retd.) | Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, GoI |
| 49. | Aditi Mehta | IAS (Retd.) | Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Rajasthan |
| 50. | Shivshankar Menon | IFS (Retd.) | Former Foreign Secretary and Former National Security Adviser |
| 51. | Malay Mishra | IFS (Retd.) | Former Ambassador to Hungary |
| 52. | Sunil Mitra | IAS (Retd.) | Former Secretary, Ministry of Finance, GoI |
| 53. | Noor Mohammad | IAS (Retd.) | Former Secretary, National Disaster Management Authority, Govt. of India |
| 54. | Avinash Mohananey | IPS (Retd.) | Former Director General of Police, Govt. of Sikkim |
| 55. | Satya Narayan Mohanty | IAS (Retd.) | Former Secretary General, National Human Rights Commission |
| 56. | Jugal Mohapatra | IAS (Retd.) | Former Secretary, Department of Rural Development, GoI |
| 57. | Deb Mukharji | IFS (Retd.) | Former High Commissioner to Bangladesh and former Ambassador to Nepal |
| 58. | Shiv Shankar Mukherjee | IFS (Retd.) | Former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom |
| 59. | Gautam Mukhopadhaya | IFS (Retd.) | Former Ambassador to Myanmar |
| 60. | Nagalsamy | IA&AS (Retd.) | Former Principal Accountant General, Tamil Nadu & Kerala |
| 61. | T.K.A. Nair | IAS (Retd.) | Former Adviser to Prime Minister of India |
| 62. | Sobha Nambisan | IAS (Retd.) | Former Principal Secretary (Planning), Govt. of Karnataka |
| 63. | Surendra Nath | IAS (Retd.) | Former Member, Finance Commission, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh |
| 64. | P. Joy Oommen | IAS (Retd.) | Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Chhattisgarh |
| 65. | S.K. Pachauri | IAS (Retd.) | Former Director General, National Productivity Council, GoI |
| 66. | Amitabha Pande | IAS (Retd.) | Former Secretary, Inter-State Council, GoI |
| 67. | Maxwell Pereira | IPS (Retd.) | Former Joint Commissioner of Police, Delhi |
| 68. | Alok Perti | IAS (Retd.) | Former Secretary, Ministry of Coal, GoI |
| 69. | G.K. Pillai | IAS (Retd.) | Former Home Secretary, GoI |
| 70. | R. Poornalingam | IAS (Retd.) | Former Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, GoI |
| 71. | Rajesh Prasad | IFS (Retd.) | Former Ambassador to the Netherlands |
| 72. | R.M. Premkumar | IAS (Retd.) | Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra |
| 73. | Rajdeep Puri | IRS (Resigned) | Former Joint Commissioner of Income Tax, GoI |
| 74. | T.R. Raghunandan | IAS (Retd.) | Former Joint Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, GoI |
| 75. | N.K. Raghupathy | IAS (Retd.) | Former Chairman, Staff Selection Commission, GoI |
| 76. | V.P. Raja | IAS (Retd.) | Former Chairman, Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission |
| 77. | K. Sujatha Rao | IAS (Retd.) | Former Health Secretary, GoI |
| 78. | M.Y. Rao | IAS (Retd.) | |
| 79. | Satwant Reddy | IAS (Retd.) | Former Secretary, Chemicals and Petrochemicals, GoI |
| 80. | Vijaya Latha Reddy | IFS (Retd.) | Former Deputy National Security Adviser, GoI |
| 81. | Julio Ribeiro | IPS (Retd.) | Former Adviser to Governor of Punjab & former Ambassador to Romania |
| 82. | Aruna Roy | IAS (Resigned) | |
| 83. | Manabendra N. Roy | IAS (Retd.) | Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal |
| 84. | A.K. Samanta | IPS (Retd.) | Former Director General of Police (Intelligence), Govt. of West Bengal |
| 85. | Deepak Sanan | IAS (Retd.) | Former Principal Adviser (AR) to Chief Minister, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh |
| 86. | G.V. Venugopala Sarma | IAS (Retd.) | Former Member, Board of Revenue, Govt. of Odisha |
| 87. | N.C. Saxena | IAS (Retd.) | Former Secretary, Planning Commission, GoI |
| 88. | A. Selvaraj | IRS (Retd.) | Former Chief Commissioner, Income Tax, Chennai, GoI |
| 89. | Abhijit Sengupta | IAS (Retd.) | Former Secretary, Ministry of Culture, GoI |
| 90. | Aftab Seth | IFS (Retd.) | Former Ambassador to Japan |
| 91. | Ashok Kumar Sharma | IFoS (Retd.) | Former MD, State Forest Development Corporation, Govt. of Gujarat |
| 92. | Ashok Kumar Sharma | IFS (Retd.) | Former Ambassador to Finland and Estonia |
| 93. | Navrekha Sharma | IFS (Retd.) | Former Ambassador to Indonesia |
| 94. | Raju Sharma | IAS (Retd.) | Former Member, Board of Revenue, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh |
| 95. | Avay Shukla | IAS (Retd.) | Former Additional Chief Secretary (Forests & Technical Education), Govt. of Himachal Pradesh |
| 96. | Sujatha Singh | IFS (Retd.) | Former Foreign Secretary, GoI |
| 97. | Tara Ajai Singh | IAS (Retd.) | Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Karnataka |
| 98. | Tirlochan Singh | IAS (Retd.) | Former Secretary, National Commission for Minorities, GoI |
| 99. | Parveen Talha | IRS (Retd.) | Former Member, Union Public Service Commission |
| 100. | Anup Thakur | IAS (Retd.) | Former Member, National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission |
| 101. | P.S.S. Thomas | IAS (Retd.) | Former Secretary General, National Human Rights Commission |
| 102. | Geetha Thoopal | IRAS (Retd.) | Former General Manager, Metro Railway, Kolkata |
| 103. | Ashok Vajpeyi | IAS (Retd.) | Former Chairman, Lalit Kala Akademi |
| 104. | Ramani Venkatesan | IAS (Retd.) | Former Director General, YASHADA, Govt. of Maharashtra |
| 105. | Rudi Warjri | IFS (Retd.) | Former Ambassador to Colombia, Ecuador and Costa Rica |