HOME

Forest Act in limbo

New Delhi, Dec 21, 2008:

With the cabinet secretary-headed inter-ministerial committee unable to keep tabs on the implementation of the Forest Rights Act, the government has become wary of facing adverse decisions against its pro-tribal scheme from the courts.

The PM had set up a committee with the tribal, environment and forests, and law ministry, chaired by the cabinet secretary, to monitor the implementation of the Act, as well as several cases running in the Supreme Court and high courts.

The committee is supposed to report on a monthly basis to the PM on the status of the half a dozen cases. The cases in the apex court had been filed by wildlife groups. In a seemingly concerted effort, retired forest officials had filed similar petitions across several high courts.

All the petitions, on various grounds, challenged the validity of the legislation and the impact it would have on wildlife and forests.

Finding the anti-FRA lobby carpet-bombing the government with suits across the country, the PM had set up the committee to coordinate any attempts to stall the implementation of the act through the courts.

But in a glaring incident, the government has found that the committee as well as the nodal tribal affairs ministry had failed to even ensure the appearance of its counsel in a hearing in the Orissa HC earlier this month.

Worse, the Orissa government's counsel scored a self-goal by arguing in favour of continuing a stay against the act in the state. The government had earlier decided to push for coalescing all the high court cases at the apex court. But the failure of the committee to move concertedly has delayed the process so much that it has not even been listed so far while the cases filed by the wildlife groups are moving forward.

Earlier too, there had been almost a three-month delay by the tribal affairs ministry in hiring a counsel to represent the government in the cases.

Sources point out the government at the topmost level is piqued that the tribal affairs ministry has even put out details of strategies adopted by the government in dealing with the case on its website facilitating a counter-argument by the petitioners.