Amendments to Forest Conservation Act will affect rights of locals, say Left activists

All India Kisan Sabha and Bhumi Adhikar Andolan on Tuesday demanded that the government should withdraw a Bill to amend the Forest Conservation Act, saying it will affect the right of locals.

The Left-backed organisations announced a nationwide protest on June 30 against the Bill.

Addressing a press conference here, activists from the two groups said the proposed amendment will destroy the essence of the Act.

"The Forest Conservation Act is being amended. It will make the Act more centralised and bureaucratised and destroy the very essence of the Act," All India Kisan Sabha leader Hannan Mollah said.

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"We will observe Land Rights Day in June 30. Protests will be held across the country," he said.

The activists said the insertion of Section 1A(2) in the Act will corporatise and exempt certain categories of land from the purview of the FCA 1980.

The exemptions include forest land along rail line and public road maintained by the government which provides access to a habitation or to a rail, and land situated within a distance of 100 km along international borders or line of control or line of actual control.

"These exemptions violate FRA, nullifying the power of Gram Sabha that governs over all forest land and requires a consent of Gram Sabha before diverting forest land," Mollah said.

Vijoo Krishnan of All India Kisan Sabha said over the last nine years, a "systematic effort" has been made to divert forest land and speeding up acquisition of farm lands.

He said The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act has not yet been implemented properly.