0.1727
900 319 0030
x

Govt Policies & Interventions

iasparliament Logo
April 05, 2018

Discuss the loopholes in the draft Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Rules – a mechanism envisaged to offset forest losses. (200 words)

Refer – The Hindu      

Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.

1 comments
Login or Register to Post Comments

IAS Parliament 6 years

KEY POINTS

·        The Union Government recently notified the draft Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Rules, 2018 to facilitate utilisation of over Rs.50,000 crore among states to expand India’s forest cover.

·        However, environmentalists and forest rights activists criticized the draft rules stating they violate the Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2006.

Loopholes in the draft rules

·        FRA Act mandates that Gram Sabhas (village councils) have both the right and the power to protect, manage and conserve their forests.

·        On the contrary, the draft rules violate FRA and have allowed for illegal plantations in community lands.

·        The definition of Gram Sabha has been diluted in the draft rules.

·        The draft rules states that compensatory Afforestation work can be carried out in consultation with a gram Sabha or Van Sanrakshan Samiti (VSS).

·        But, VSS is not a legal body and cannot be equated with Gram Sabha.

·        This is clearly a strategy to bypass Gram Sabha and engage with VSSs which don’t have any legal standing.

·        The draft rules placed this huge fund (CAF) at the unilateral disposal of the forest bureaucracy, giving it unchecked powers to undertake plantations on private and common property resources.

·        The proposed rules don’t have provision for getting consent of the Gram Sabhas (only mention consultation) and provision for transferring funds to the Gram Sabha.

·        It is a clear step backward from the consent provisions in the FRA and the 2014 Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act.

·        This will result in further atrocities and crimes against tribals and forest dwellers.

·        Consultations are not stipulated for all Afforestation projects, and need not even involve the affected Gram Sabhas.

·        This indicates a wilful blindness to conflicts under way across forested landscapes.

·        The draft says absolutely nothing about how consultation should be done, and what happens if local communities refuse their consent.

·        The rules provide no meaningful safeguards against the forest bureaucracy implementing compensatory plantations on dense forests, and where FRA claims have been issued, are pending or have to be filed. 

ARCHIVES

MONTH/YEARWISE - MAINSTORMING

Free UPSC Interview Guidance Programme