-Dr. Lalmalsawma Nghaka

Sawisel hlawh Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill 2023 chu Lok Sabha-ah sawihona pawh awm mang lova pawm a nih hnuah Rajya Sabha-ah pawh Opposition te awmloh laiin August 2, 2023 khan passed a ni zui leh ta a.

Zautaka sawi chuan he Bill hian Act in conservation scope a neih chu 'forest land' tia sawi thenkhatah chauh a huamtir tawh dawn a ni. Hei mai bakah hian border land hnaiha 'ram tana pawimawh (national importance) project' te kalpui dawn chuan forest clearance lak a ngai tawh dawn lo bawk.

Hei mai bakah hian 'forest lands' tia sawiah non-forest activities heng sahuan siam te leh eco-tourism facility din te a remti tawh dawn bawk.

He Bill hi March thla khan Lok Sabha-ah pharh a ni tawh a, chumi hnuah Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) party hrang hrang member 32 awmnaah an enfiah tura pek a ni a. JPC chairperson chu Meerut atanga Bharatiya Janata Party MP Rajendra Agrawal a ni.

Bill in Act scope a khuahkhirh dan?

He Bill in a khawih nat ber chu India law hnuaia 'forest' tih chu a sawifiahthat (redefine) chu a ni. Indian Forest Act, 1927 hnuaia 'forest' a tih ram te chauh a huam tir a, dan pawi mawh dang sorkar record a 'forests' tih te pawh Act hnuaiah 'forests' tia hriat tho tur a ti bawk.

He ennawn lehna hi tuna Act awm lai mek hman mek nen chuan a in ang ta lo hle a, tuna dan ding laiah chuan "any forest land" tiin dah a ni. Kum 1996 a Supreme Court judgement chuan hetianga huamzau taka sawina hi kalpui zelin 'forest' tihah chuan land record tin sorkar in record a neih tin te (a neitu tute pawh ni se) bakah 'deemed forests' (forest a ngaih) tih te, official a 'forests' tia sawi ni lo mahse huam tir tel tho ram zau tak thing tam tak dinna la ni lo thing awm teuhna ni tho si te chu a huam tel vek a.

Supreme Court chuan State te chu an ram theuha 'deemed forest' te chu enfiaha chhinchhiah turin a ti bawk a. Mahse, kum 30 dawn hnuah pawh he thil thi State tam tak tena an bawhzuilohin a awm thung. 

Tuna amendment siam thar hmang hian official a 'forests' tia chhinchiah loh zawng te chu commercial activity-ah a chhuah ta vek a. Chumai bakah Act in 'check and balances' a siam forest thiah a nih dawna local community te remtihna lak phawt te chu a thiatta vek bawk.

He Bill hmang hi chuan Aravalli range 40% vel leh Niyamgiri hill range 95% vel te chu a khawih dawn a, heng hmun te hi Dongria Kondh, Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group tia sawi te chenna hmun a ni. Hei bakah hian mithiam te chuan State-wise data 'deemed forests' tih te chu mipui nawlpui hriata data hmuhtheiha a awm loh avangin he amended Act pawnah hian a awm dawn nge an chiang lo bawk an ti.

He Bill hian linear infrastructure project - kawngpui leh highways ang te siama  nih dawn chuan national border atanga 100 km huam chhunga awm a nih chuan 'forest clearance' lak a ngai tawh lo a ti bawk.

Hei tak hi mithiam te ngaih tithalo tu niin a chhan chu  “strategic linear projects of national importance” tih chu sawifiahna mumal awm lo a nih avangin infrastructure project kalpui nan duh dan dana hmansual theih leh local ecology tichhe vek theiah an ngai a ni.

Hei tak hi Northeastern States te tan a pawi theih em emna chu a ni ta a ni. JPC consultation neih lai pawhin BJP rorelna Northeast State te chuan '100 km exemption' hi an dodal tawh a. Nagaland phei chuan 100 km exemption hi an ram a tet avang leh Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot a nih avangin siam danglam ni se an ti a, Tripura chuan 10 km a tihtawi tiin rawtna a siam a. Chutihlaiin Arunachal Pradesh chu 150 km a tihsan ni se a ti ve hlauh thung.

JPC in Bill a sawisel te a ngai pawimawh em?

Pakhatnaah, Bill chu Parliamentary Standing Committee hnenah thlen a ni lo, thlen ni se chuan Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh kaihhruai te enfiah tura lut tur a ni a. Pre-legislative Consultation Policy ang chuan enfiah tura pek tur a ni a, tihmakmawh erawh a ni lo. Mahse, BJP sokar chuan heng hi  Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill 2023 bikah chuan kalkanin a namnul vek a.

Pahnihnaah chuan JPC te chuan representation 1,200 chuang te atanga rawtna leh thlak tura ngenna tribal groups, conservationists, environmental lawyers, activists leh citizen groups te atanga an dawng chungin Bill ah pakhatte mah thlak danglam an nei duh lo. 

JPC a member paruk te chuan lungawilohna 'dissent notes' an ziak hial nghe nghe a. Ministry of Tribal Affairs te pawhin JPC hnenah amendmnt kalpui tum chuan Forest Rights Act 2006 a community rights bawhchhiat theihna awm thei te an thlen bawk chungin ngaih pawimawhsak an ni lo. Chuti khawp chuan kaltlangpui tumin an tumruh a ni.

He Bill hian Opposittion MP tena Lok Sabha a Manipur buaina an thlurbing bur karah awlsam te in a paltlang mai a. Upper House (Rajya Sabha) ah sawiho tura chhawpchhuah a nih hnuah pawh Opposition te awmloh laiin voice vote in pawm fel a ni ta a ni.

Sawiseltute sawiselna

Environmentalist tam tak te chuan he Bill hian forest land te commercial exploitation atan a hawng dawn a ni an ti a. Bill a "central sorkar-in public utility atan" tia a sawi chu kawh nei tam lutuk leh hmansual theih an ti bawk.

Sorkar official hlui te chuan border area a forest land 100 km thlenga 'strategi'c thila hman theih tihah ngaih thatlohna an neih thu an sawi bawk a.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forests hlui BK Singh chuan he dan hmang hi chuan North East Region of India leh Himalyan region pum deuhthaw 'ecologically sensitive' leh 'wildlife species' tam tak awmna chu a huam tel vek dawn a ti bawk.

July 12 khan civil servant hlui 100 chuang te chuan Parliament chu he amendment hi remti lo tura ngenin dik lo leh fello tam tak a awm a ni an ti bawk a. He amdendment hi forest land te non-forest thila phalraina zawk tur a ni an ti bawk.