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Definition of Forest - Supreme Court
February 23 , 2024
148 days
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- The Supreme Court directed that the expression ‘forest’ will continue to have a “broad and all-encompassing” meaning for the time being, and include 1.97 lakh square km of undeclared forest lands.
- This is held on petitions challenging the amendments introduced in 2023 to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
- Section 1A introduced through the amended Act had “circumscribed or substantially diluted” the definition of forest to two categories — declared forests and lands recorded as forests in ‘government records’ after 1980.
- The court directed the government for clarity’s sake to revert to the “dictionary meaning” of ‘forest’ as upheld in a 1996 Supreme Court decision in the T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad case.
- The term ‘forest’ had been given a broad meaning by the court then to preserve these green expanses, irrespective of their nature, classification or ownership.
- It is clarified that the expression ’forest’ will cover but not be confined to lands recorded as forests in the government records.
- The Bench further directed that the establishment of “zoos or safaris” by any government or authority should not be consented to without the final approval of the apex court.
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