Six Opposition members file dissent notes on Forest Conservation Bill
At least six out of the 31 members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Forest Amendment Bill, have filed dissent notes, raising an alarm over exemptions extended to significant tracts of land in the draft legislation, even as the panel cleared the controversial Bill without proposing any changes. Both the Congress and Trinamool members have raised objections to amendment that provides exemption for the lands, “situated within a distance of 100 km along international borders or Line of Control or Line of Actual Control,” for “construction of strategic linear projects of national importance and concerning national security”. Clearing such forests without proper assessment and mitigation plan will not only threaten the biodiversity of vulnerable ecological and geologically sensitive areas but also could trigger extreme weather events, they said. The Congress and Trinamool have also opposed the amendment that restricts the Forest Conservation Bill’s ambit only to the lands that are recorded as forests on or after October 25, 1980.
Discover Related
Supreme Court holds Telangana Chief Secretary accountable for tree felling
Waqf Bill passed in Lok Sabha despite Opposition’s ‘unconstitutional’ charge
Lok Sabha passes Waqf Bill despite Opposition’s ‘unconstitutional’ charge
Opposition backing bill in private: Minister as Parliament braces for Waqf showdown
Telangana HC halts land clearing near Hyderabad Central University
Union Minister Kishan reddy urged CM Revanth Reddy to halt auction of Kancha Gachibowli land
Bhupender Yadav to visit areas affected by wildlife attacks: Jose K. Mani
173K ha forests cleared in 9 years, Lok Sabha informed
Revanth seeks Modi’s appointment for all-party delegation to present BC Bills
Concerns flagged over green credit rules, SC intervenes
Centre asks MP government to look into forest rights claims
Opposition's 'gurudwaras, churches next' dig as Waqf report tabled in Rajya Sabha
Rahul Gandhi takes stock of Congress’s performance