Centre seeks to change forest policy to promote industrial plantations in natural forests
22nd March, 2018
The
existing policy bans commercial activity in natural forests to protect
forest dwellers. The new draft policy is up for public comments till
April 14.The Union government has
drafted a new National Forest Policy. If approved, the policy will
allow the corporate sector to grow, harvest and sell trees on
government-owned forest lands. So far, this is explicitly banned under
the existing National Forest Policy, which was laid down in 1988.
The
BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre has been
wanting to open forest lands to industry since 2015, when it passed
guidelines to that effect and asked states to take the initiative. But
the 1988 policy did not allow that plan to proceed. Government
guidelines need to adhere to the nation’s laws and policies, and the
2015 guidelines were in contravention of the 1988 forest policy and did
not have an explicit legal basis either. If the new draft National
Forest Policy is approved, however, it will permit the government to
amend environment laws and allow industry to take over patches of
forest lands.
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