Forest Law, Policy and Administration
Forest Law, Policy and Administration tests statutes, clearances, offences, tribal rights and departmental hierarchy.
Core rules
- Indian Forest Act 1927 creates reserved, protected and village forests and defines forest offences and powers of forest officers.
- Forest (Conservation) Act 1980 regulates diversion of forest land; after the 2023 amendment it is renamed Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam.
- Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, Biological Diversity Act 2002, Forest Rights Act 2006, PESA 1996 and CAMPA Act 2016 are core statutes.
- National Forest Policy 1988 targets 33% forest cover for ecological security.
- Administration: MoEFCC → state forest department → PCCF → CCF → CF → DFO → Range Officer → Beat Officer.
- Clearance process: proposal, stage-I, stage-II, compensatory afforestation, net present value and FRA compliance.
Worked example
A road proposal diverts 4 ha of reserve forest. Reasoning: it is forest land, so FCA clearance is needed; the user agency submits a proposal through the DFO, completes gram sabha consent under FRA where applicable, pays NPV and compensatory afforestation, and obtains stage-II before felling.
Traps
- Saying FCA applies only to reserved forest; it applies to all forest land.
- Confusing FRA consent with forest clearance.
- Mixing CAMPA funds with state revenue.
- Forgetting that the 2023 amendment renamed the 1980 Act.