BackWhat’s the definition of a forest? Govt seeks two months to decide
Environment ministry tells National Green Tribunal that several states are yet to respond to its request on the issue
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New Delhi: Having allowed the diversion of forests for non-forestry purposes for decades, the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) is now in the process of defining what exactly makes up a forest.
In fact, MoEF has told the National Green Tribunal (NGT) it needs two more months to finalize the parameters for classifying an area as a forest—because, it said, several state governments are yet to respond to its request.
MoEF officials requesting anonymity said the ministry has nearly cracked the definition, which is in line with the diverse conditions across the country, but is fine-tuning it in consultation with the states because once finalized, it is bound to have far-reaching implications.
“India is a diverse country and conditions across India are different. The ministry has broadly identified three categories under which forests across the country would be defined," the officials said.
Currently, the definition of forests is an unresolved issue. Understood in the dictionary sense of the word, it often leads to varying interpretations.
A high-level committee headed by former cabinet secretariat T.S.R. Subramanian, formed to review India’s green laws, in its report in November 2014, recommended that environment ministry define forests at an “early date".
Last year, on NGT’s order, the environment ministry launched the process to define forests and called meetings of the principal chief conservators of forests from all states—once in June and twice in August—to help formulate the draft parameters for classifying an area as a forest.
However, because of the far-reaching consequences of a definition, the ministry also decided to seek the formal comments of all states and Union territories on the draft parameters that had been agreed.
After some state governments failed to send in their comments, the tribunal in October 2014 ordered their chief secretaries to do so within three weeks.
But the deadline expired with nine states still failing to comply, prompting the tribunal to give them more time in December.
Six states have still not sent their official comments on the parameters of a forest.
MoEF, meanwhile, has tried to accommodate the concerns of the states which have sent their concerns.
“Thus, MoEF is taking into account the comments received from various states and has further refined/amended the draft parameters so as to accommodate the concerns of the states to the extent possible," MoEF director H.C. Chaudhary said in an affidavit to NGT.
The affidavit, accessed by Mint, revealed that the environment ministry told the tribunal that, “keeping in view the countrywide implications, the secretary, MoEF, in consultations with concerned officials in the MoEF will further examine these parameters before they are finalized and placed before NGT."
People aware of the development said secretary, MoEF, Ashok Lavasa, held a meeting on 9 January to examine the parameters.
“During the meeting, it was observed that certain key issues relating to state records need to be further examined before the parameters are finalized," the people added.
“The counsel appearing for MoEF submits that states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar and Jammu and Kashmir have not submitted their comments to the MoEF to enable them to finalize their report. Let notice be issued to the chief secretaries of these states. MoEF shall also immediately write to the chief secretaries personally, bringing to their notice that they should comply with the order of the tribunal without any further delay," said the NGT bench in its order on 15 January. The case is now scheduled for hearing on 20 February when MoEF has been asked to submit a final status report. A similar case is going on in the Supreme Court, too.
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