User:Romabala/The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006


 * add a last line to the lead section noting that there's been a 2022 amendment**

The the recent 2022 Forest Conservation Rules Amendment

** add the following as a last and new subsection called "New 2022 Amendment" in the Section called "Provisions", and below the subsection "Resettlement for wildlife conservation"**

In the new 2022 Forest Conservation Rules, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) introduced an amendment to the Forest Conservation Act of 1980 which violates the Forest Rights Act of 2006. This amendment transferred the rights of community forest from tribal communities to large corporations such as private mining and pharmaceutical companies. The amendment allows district collectors to override the approval of Gram Sabhas and transfer the forest land to private entities. In doing so, the amendment revokes the participatory rights of the forest dwellers by making them bystanders to actions that directly impact their livelihood. Instead, it provides corporations with unlimited rights to develop the land for exploitative uses such as underground mining.

The Union Government's rationale for enacting the new 2022 Rules was to simplify the forest clearance process by streamlining the process and eliminating elements that were thought to hinder the approval of land transfers under the Forest Act.

The new 2022 Rules are seen as emblematic of the Modi administration's pro-business focus at the expense of environmental protection and the rights of indigenous communities. Such an approach has raised serious concerns about the potential exploitation of forest resources and the harm inflicted upon forest-dependent communities. Many have called for the government to repeal the amendment and ensure that the Forest Rights Act is implemented in a way that protects the rights of forest-dwelling communities and the environment.