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KOHIMA — The Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) on Thursday passed a resolution on the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023 on the third day of the 14th NLA house.
The bill, introduced and moved by Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, CL John, was unanimously passed by the house through a voice vote.
The resolution highlights concerns related to the Act against the backdrop of the Parliament of India which enacted The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act 2023 and was accordingly notified by the Government of India on August 4, 2023.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]In this regard, the state government referred to the application and provisions of Article 371(A) of the Constitution of India which guarantees special provisions for the state of Nagaland.
Article 371A of the Constitution mainly states that no act of Parliament will apply to the state of Nagaland in matters relating to religious or social practices of Nagas, Naga customary law and procedure, administration of civil or criminal justice involving decisions according to Naga customary law, and ownership and transfer of land and its resources, unless the state assembly decides so by a resolution.
The state assembly resolved that, “Whereas the amended Act has inserted a new Section, namely, Section 1(A)(2) which exempted from the operation of the principal Act such forest lands situated within a distance of 100 km along international borders, Line of Control or Actual Line of Control as the case may be, proposed to be used for construction of a strategic linear project of national importance and concerning national security; And whereas the above-exempted area of 100 kilometres from international borders will cover most parts of Nagaland State.”
The NLA resolution maintained that in Nagaland, the ownership of most of the forest lands vests with tribal communities and further pointed out to the consultative meeting with various stakeholders on the subject of Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023 etc. organised by the state government on September 1, 2023.
In the consultative meeting, representatives of the various Naga tribal hohos and organisations expressed their strong objection to the application of Section 1(A) (2) of Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023 in Nagaland, on the ground that it is likely to infringe on traditional ownership and usage of forest land and its resources.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]The house viewed that the term 'land and its resources' mentioned in Article 371(A) includes forest land and its resources and that the application of Section 1(A) (2) of the amended Act in Nagaland would jeopardise the existing rights of tribal communities on their forest lands and resources.
The house resolved that the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act 2023 will only be applicable to the state, subject to the constitutional guarantees provided in Article 371(A).
The house also resolved that the Government of India must ensure that the provisions contained in Section 1(A) (2) of the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act 2023 shall not be used to the detriment of the state and its people.
It further resolved to explore various options, including the state enacting its own Act for the purpose of establishing its own compensatory mechanism. Under this mechanism, any diversion of even private or community-owned forest land for non-forestry purposes and damage to the environment should be suitably compensated by the user agency. This is in addition to availing of the benefits of the existing schemes of the central government in this regard.