Forest department issues notices to 4 officials for violating Forest Act
1 month, 1 week ago

Forest department issues notices to 4 officials for violating Forest Act

Hindustan Times  

The state forest department on Monday issued show-cause notices to retired IAS officer Sandeep Dave, retired IFS officer Vijayakumar Gogi, and current officials Smita Bijoor and R Gokul over alleged violations of the Forest Conservation Act of 1980 by declaring a forest land occupied by the Hindustan Machine Tools as “non-forest”. Principal chief conservator of forests BK Dikshit emphasised the department’s commitment to uphold conservation laws, referring to the Supreme Court’s long-standing directive that “once a forest, always a forest” unless duly denotified. Even then, the land is leased and should revert to the forest department at the end of the lease term.” On September 24, forest minister Ishwara B Khandre directed officials to serve notices, demanding explanations from those involved. In a bid to reclaim the “forest lands”, the notice was formally issued to retired additional chief secretary of the forest department Sandeep Dave, retired principal secretary Vijayakumar Gogi, and current officers Smita Bijoor and R Gokul.

Land Forest Officials Act Hmt Dikshit  land  nonforest  violating  issues  conservation  department  retired  act  minister  forest  notices  officials  state

History of this topic

'Once A Forest, Always A Forest': Kumaraswamy, Khandre Embroiled In Centre vs State Tussle Over Land Given to HMT in Karnataka
4 months, 1 week ago

'Once A Forest, Always A Forest': Kumaraswamy, Khandre Embroiled In Centre vs State Tussle Over Land Given to HMT in Karnataka

News 18  

A fresh tussle over the alleged misuse of forest land between the Centre and the Congress-ruled Karnataka government has broken out, with Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy accusing the state Forest Minister Eshwara Khandre of trying to kill Hindustan Machine Tools. Kumaraswamy, who is involved in a continuous battle of wits with the Congress government, lashed out at Khandre’s efforts to …

No handing over HMT land, will go to court, says Minister Kumaraswamy
4 months, 1 week ago

No handing over HMT land, will go to court, says Minister Kumaraswamy

New Indian Express  

BENGALURU: Slamming the Karnataka government for attempting to reclaim HMT land worth several crores of rupees, Union Steel and Heavy Industry Minister HD Kumaraswamy said there is no question of handing over HMT land to the state government. Kumaraswamy spoke to the media on Tuesday in Bengaluru, where he objected to Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre’s allegation that HMT had sold …

Kumaraswamy hits out at Khandre on status of HMT land in Bengaluru
4 months, 1 week ago

Kumaraswamy hits out at Khandre on status of HMT land in Bengaluru

The Hindu  

Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy and Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre on Tuesday sparred over the status of land under HMT’s control in Bengaluru, with the former accusing the Congress government of pursuing “vendetta politics” against him. While Mr. Khandre had termed the sale of land by HMT as “illegal” since it was forest land and …

States/UTs Must Follow Definition Of 'Forest' Given By Godavarman Judgment Till Forests Are Identified As Per 2023 Rules : Supreme Court
10 months ago

States/UTs Must Follow Definition Of 'Forest' Given By Godavarman Judgment Till Forests Are Identified As Per 2023 Rules : Supreme Court

Live Law  

The Supreme Court on Monday passed an interim order directing that States and Union Territories must act as per the definition of "forest" laid down in the 1996 judgment in T.N Godavarman Thirumalpad v. Union of India while the process of identifying land recorded as forests in Government records is going on as per the 2023 amendment to Forest Act.A …

NGT Directs Uttarakhand Forest Department To Realise Punitive Cost For Illegal Tree Cutting In Nainital Forest Area
1 year, 4 months ago

NGT Directs Uttarakhand Forest Department To Realise Punitive Cost For Illegal Tree Cutting In Nainital Forest Area

Live Law  

The principal bench of National Green Tribunal has directed the Forest Department of Uttarakhand to take action for realisation punitive cost of trees which are illegally felled in forest area adjacent to Nainital city belonging to forest area. “We direct the Forest Department to take action for realization of cost of the trees not according to the value but according …

Parliament Passes Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023
1 year, 4 months ago

Parliament Passes Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023

Live Law  

After the judgment, the Act was applied to recorded forest areas, including those already used for non-forestry purposes. Godavarman vs. Union of India and others, the Forest Act only applied to notified forest lands, not revenue forest areas and non-forestry use in the revenue forest areas was allowed through government's permissions. These include land notified as a forest under the …

Explained | What will the amended Forest (Conservation) Act change?
1 year, 4 months ago

Explained | What will the amended Forest (Conservation) Act change?

The Hindu  

August 01, 2023 07:01 pm | Updated August 04, 2023 10:27 am IST - Bengaluru The highly controversial Forest Amendment Bill 2023 is awaiting debate in the Rajya Sabha after having been passed by the Lok Sabha with almost no debate in June. It stipulates that only those lands that were notified as ‘forest’ under the Indian Forest Act 1927, …

Strike a balance on forest laws
1 year, 4 months ago

Strike a balance on forest laws

Hindustan Times  

What is a forest? Land that was recorded as a forest in any government record, as on or after October 25, 1980 – the day the original forest conservation act came into effect – except where land use was changed from forest to non-forest purpose before December 12, 1996 will also be covered. A report by Vidhi Centre for Legal …

New forest bill must strike a fine balance
1 year, 5 months ago

New forest bill must strike a fine balance

Hindustan Times  

Among the most important bills likely to be tabled in Parliament in the upcoming monsoon session is the Forest Amendment Bill, 2023. And if the developments in the joint parliamentary committee scrutinising the draft legislation are any clue, then it is likely to be contentious as well. This newspaper reported that the panel is likely to finalise its report on …

Forest Conservation Rules infringe upon land rights of tribespeople: ST panel chief
2 years, 2 months ago

Forest Conservation Rules infringe upon land rights of tribespeople: ST panel chief

The Hindu  

It is the duty of the commission to “caution the government” when its policies have the potential to affect the well-being and rights of tribal people, Harsh Chouhan, Chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, told The Hindu on Thursday. He said this would amount to infringing upon the land rights of tribespeople under the Forest Rights Act, an …

Forest (Conservation) Rules consistent with Forest Rights Act: Bhupender Yadav
2 years, 5 months ago

Forest (Conservation) Rules consistent with Forest Rights Act: Bhupender Yadav

Hindustan Times  

Forest Rules, 2022, do not dilute or infringe upon provisions of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav has clarified. “It is actually the State Government diversion order issued subsequently which authorises use of forest land for intended purposes and hand over the land to the user agency.” Yadav said the process envisaged in FRA and new …

Congress, BJP spar over new forest conservation rules
2 years, 5 months ago

Congress, BJP spar over new forest conservation rules

The Hindu  

Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav and Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh on Sunday engaged in war of words on Twitter on provisions of the Forest Rules, 2022. The Forest Rights Act, 2006, along with a 2009 government order, makes it mandatory to seek “free, prior and informed consent” of families who would be affected by such diversion of forest land, Mr. …

There Cannot Be Any 'Deemed Forest' Under The Forest Conservation Act: Karnataka High Court Reiterates
2 years, 5 months ago

There Cannot Be Any 'Deemed Forest' Under The Forest Conservation Act: Karnataka High Court Reiterates

Live Law  

The Karnataka High Court has reiterated that a land can either be a "forest" or a "forest land", but there cannot be any "deemed forest" in absence of any provision under the Forest Conservation Act. A division bench Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice Ashok S Kinagi while allowing a petition filed by one DM Deve Gowda said, "This …

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