Congress’ Jairam Ramesh wants afforestation bill amended, Javadekar says no chance

The bill has been passed by Lok Sabha, but Congress member Jairam Ramesh proposed an amendment when it came to Rajya Sabha for approval.

Ramesh’s amendments seek to ensure that afforestation activities are done only after making sure that the land does not belong to tribals or forest-dwellers who are eligible, under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), to claim ownership over the forest land they live on or are dependent on for their livelihood.

Javadekar said the amendment was “unnecessary” and there was no conflict between the proposed CAF bill and the Forest Rights Act. “The rights of forest dwellers under the FRA are not threatened by this (CAF) bill. The CAMPA bill does not override any rights of the forest dwellers. The FRA is a different law, and I cannot change it. We have no intention of changing it in any way. This bill (CAF) would help in giving them (forest-dwellers) gainful employment,” Javadekar told The Sunday Express.

The minister said the bill had already incorporated “practically all suggestions” made by the Parliamentary Standing Committee chaired by Congress member Ashwani Kumar.

“We have accepted the recommendations and amended the bill. The Lok Sabha passed it unanimously. Every party, including the Congress, spoke in favour of the bill. Now there is a sudden late realisation that an amendment is required,” he said.

The CAF bill was one of the two mentioned by the PM, the other being Goods and Services Tax, during his speech in the Upper House on the last day of the Parliament Session earlier this month. Addressing a batch of retiring members, he had said they would have felt more satisfied if they had seen these two legislation passed during their tenure.

Javadekar said he was sure that the CAF would be passed “unanimously” by Rajya Sabha in the monsoon session in its current form.