Rampant violation of community forest rights

States exploit the delay in the drafting of rules for the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act to assert rights over land claimed by communities under the Forest Rights Act In February, forest officials planted 60,000 teak saplings on a 300-ha forestland that is being considered for community rights under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, in Odisha’s Pidikia village (Source: Laxmidhara Murmu)

More than a year after Parliament passed the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act 2016 (CAF), the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) is yet to roll out the mandatory rules to implement it. In fact, the ministry in November asked an extension till January 3, 2018, from the Rajya Sabha Committee on Subordinate Legislation to finalise the rules, which set the deadline of June 2017. “The proposed rules are currently with the ministry’s integrated finance division,” says D K Sinha, inspector general, forest, MoEF&CC and member of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA).

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Courtesy: The Hans India