A Few Steps Forward, the Struggle Goes On
Recent days have seen some steps forward and ongoing
battles in the struggle for forest rights. On Monday, March 2nd, the
Supreme Court again declined to entertain hardline conservationists'
attempt to get a stay order against the Forest Rights Act (click on "Court Cases" on the left).
Last week, a concerted effort by political leaders of the CPM, CPI
and sections of the Congress prevented the government from passing the
Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, a dangerous legislation that
would have given statutory force to an undemocratic, hyper-centralised
model of "compensatory afforestation" and contributed to accelerating
forest destruction. In a stinging indictment, the Standing Committee
on Environment and Forests had said that "The present Bill gives fillip
to the tendency to see all such resources as sources of profit at the
cost of the poor who are being deprived and denied of whatever access
they traditionally had to such natural resources.... forest
conservation has found a strange companion in industrial forestry.
While the rights of forest dwellers are severely curtailed on the
pretext of forest conservation, forests are increasingly shaped to suit
the needs of industry." The Committee called the present system of
forest diversion "non-transparent and undemocratic ... it enables the
powerful to buy the right to destroy the most pristine forests simply
because they have the financial resources... The Committee suggests
that ... forest diversion [should be] decided through a rigorous
democratic process in which local adivasi and forest dweller
communities are empowered to be part of decision-making."
Despite such a strong rejection by a Parliamentary Committee, the
government tried to ram the Bill through anyway. Though it has now
lapsed, nothing prevents it from being introduced again by the next
government, since the forest bureaucracy will continue to push for such
laws. To know more about the Bill and its dangers, including a copy of the Standing Committee report, click on "Other Legislations" on the left.
On the ground, the struggle to use the Forest Rights Act as a
weapon for democracy continues. Repressive actions against activists
are taking place in West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu, while
practically all State governments are now undermining the Act.
Unmindful of the illegalities in declaration of Critical Tiger
Habitats, the Ministry of Environment and Forests is going ahead with
sanctioning of funds for these habitats and for relocation - in direct
violation of the FR Act. It also appears that the Ministry is on the
verge of declaring critical wildlife habitats in the same arbitrary and
illegal manner. More information on major States can be found under "Current Situation" on the left.
Campaign for Survival and Dignity