By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: The Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2022 notified by Union environment ministry has created a political stir with the Opposition accusing the Centre of diluting rights of tribal community. Senior Congress leader and former environment minister Jairam Ramesh was engaged in a Twitter spat with Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav. The Opposition intends to push for the rules to be referred to a parliamentary standing committee for discussion and scrutiny.
Ramesh said that once nod for forest clearance is accorded, everything else becomes a mere formality. The state governments will be under even greater pressure from the Centre to accelerate the process of diversion of forest land, he claimed.
Rahul Gandhi tweeted, “Modi-Mitr Sarkar at its crony best! For ‘ease of snatching’ forest land, BJP govt has come up with new FC Rules, 2022, diluting UPA’s Forest Rights Act.” The Congress Tuesday wrote to the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes to take note of the alleged violation of the Forest Rights Act and ask the Centre to withdraw the new rules in the public interest. It has been alleged that the amended rules will lead to disempowerment, dispossession and displacement of STs and other traditional forest dwellers, and fuel conflict in tribal areas.
Rejecting the charges, Yadav clarified the rules have been promulgated to streamline the approval process, introduce collective decision making and address the dynamic changes in the value of trees/forests.
NEW DELHI: The Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2022 notified by Union environment ministry has created a political stir with the Opposition accusing the Centre of diluting rights of tribal community. Senior Congress leader and former environment minister Jairam Ramesh was engaged in a Twitter spat with Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav. The Opposition intends to push for the rules to be referred to a parliamentary standing committee for discussion and scrutiny.
Ramesh said that once nod for forest clearance is accorded, everything else becomes a mere formality. The state governments will be under even greater pressure from the Centre to accelerate the process of diversion of forest land, he claimed.
Rahul Gandhi tweeted, “Modi-Mitr Sarkar at its crony best! For ‘ease of snatching’ forest land, BJP govt has come up with new FC Rules, 2022, diluting UPA’s Forest Rights Act.” The Congress Tuesday wrote to the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes to take note of the alleged violation of the Forest Rights Act and ask the Centre to withdraw the new rules in the public interest. It has been alleged that the amended rules will lead to disempowerment, dispossession and displacement of STs and other traditional forest dwellers, and fuel conflict in tribal areas.
Rejecting the charges, Yadav clarified the rules have been promulgated to streamline the approval process, introduce collective decision making and address the dynamic changes in the value of trees/forests.
