In Uttarakhand, new rules make it tougher to get forest label

Only if these parameters are met will prohibitions laid down for forest areas under the Forest Conservation Act be applicable in those areas. Incidentally, the recent agitation in Mumbai by residents of Aarey Colony, which isn’t classified as a forest, was to prevent the felling of trees to build a Metro car shed.

“These parameters will have impact on areas notified in revenue records as forest, jungle, jungle jhadi, ban, bani and other private owned area having plantation cover. It will not affect government land notified as forest in any central or state Acts,” said a top official in the Forest department.

“When areas were notified as forests several decades ago, conditions like patch area and canopy density were not there. Also, any area recorded by revenue staff as forest by including words meaning forest in vernacular language such as forest, jungle, jungle jhadi, ban, bani, benaap land, civil soyam land, etc., in any of the Government records of the state ipso facto was forest irrespective of size and number of standing trees,” the official said.

“Hence, conditions of Forest (Conservation) Act were applicable there and one had to obtain clearance from Forest department to do any activity in that area. Now, if any such area does not come under parameters of 10 hectares or more compact patch and 60 per cent or more canopy density and more than 75 per cent plantation of native species, that area will not be considered as forest and no clearance will be required for any activity there,” official said.

Forest Minister Harak Singh Rawat was not available for comment.

The impetus for framing the new rules finds its root in a 1996 judgment of the Supreme Court directing the states to constitute expert committees to identify all ‘forests’, irrespective of whether they are notified, recognized or classified under any law, and irrespective of land ownership. To comply with the order, states formed ‘expert committees’. Many states developed their respective criteria for considering “deemed forest’.

The Uttarakhand government formulated the parameters and sent them to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on June 14 in compliance with directions from the Supreme Court in a case — Birendra Singh versus MoEF and Climate Change & Others. The ministry later clarified that the state doesn’t need a go-ahead from the Centre as a one-size-fits-all definition was not suitable for India.

The government order reads: “(a)Forest means all the areas notified as Forest under any prevailing law applicable in the State of Uttarakhand made by State or Centre. (b) Apart from any area mentioned in para (a), only those area shall be treated as Forest, which are recorded as Forest in any revenue record of the State actually notified or mentioned as Forest area, which is a compact patch of 10 hectares or more and canopy density of which is 60 % or more on measuring by Radial Densitometer.”

It states: “Apart from any area mentioned in two para above, only those other area of any kind of ownership shall be treated as Forest, in which along with compact patch of 10 hectares or more, there are more than 75 per cent trees are of native species and canopy density comes to 60 per cent or more on measuring by Radial Densitometer. However, orchards/fruit plantations of any shape or species shall be kept out of the definition of Forest.”

Environmentalists fear the new rules will open forests to builders and planters. The state has reported a recorded forest area of 38,000 sq km, which is 71 per cent of its geographical area, according to the Forest Survey of India.

Environmentalist Vimal Bhai of Matu Jan Sangathan said these parameters with “compact patch” and percentage of canopy density were “steps to finish forest cover”. “This will create challenges for existence of flora and fauna of Uttarakhand. These parameters will be used for industrialist and political beneficiaries,” Bhai said.

Peter Smetacek, founder of Butterfly Research Centre in Bhimtal, has sent a representation to Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar objecting to the parameters set by Uttarakhand government.

In his letter, he said: “…the meaning of forest cannot be restricted as is being proposed by the Uttarakhand Forest Department since the same would open up forested areas to unhindered commercial exploitation thereby laying havoc across the state with fragile Himalayan ecosystems for which Uttarakhand is globally renowned.”

The letter adds: “…needless to state, any further destruction of forests due to the proposed criteria would have an irreversible and adverse impact on the availability of water in Ganga river.”

The state government says the new rules will cut down red tape and speed up construction on private land.

Principal Secretary, Forest, Anand Bardhan, said the parameters have been set following the directives of the Environment Ministry and these parameters will be notified soon because approval of the Cabinet has been taken.

“The only difference after this notification will be that any area, which does not fulfill these parameters, will not come in the definition of forests and Forest Conservation Act will not be applicable there. And hence, no clearance will be required to hold any construction activity there,” Bardhan said.

According to a senior official in the Forest department, the forest areas of different categories like Reserved Forests, Protected Forests and village forests were notified under the Indian Forest Act and other Acts in states.