New Delhi: The Supreme Court Monday restrained until further orders the Centre and the states from taking any step that would reduce forest areas.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and K Vinod Chandran was hearing a batch of petitions against the amendments to the 2023 forest conservation law. “We will not permit anything which leads to reduction of forest area.
We further order that until further orders, no steps will be taken by the Union of India and any state which will lead to reduction of forest land unless compensatory land is provided by the Centre and the states…,” the bench said. Additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, said she would file a response on the applications filed in the matter within three weeks.
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A status report would also be placed before the court before the next date of hearing, added Bhati. One of the advocates appearing in the matter said the pleadings were complete and the issue raised in the pleas related to the amendments to the Forest Conservation Law of 2023.
The bench posted the hearing March 4. In February last year, the top court took note of the submission that the definition of forest under the 2023 amended law on conservation left out nearly 1.99 lakh square kilometres of forest land from the ambit of “forests” and made it available for other purposes.
The bench said any fresh proposal for opening a zoo or starting a “safari” on forest land would now require the Supreme Court’s approval. It directed the state governments and Union Territories (UTs) to provide the details of forest land within their jurisdiction to the Centre by March 31, 2024.
PNN & Agencies