The Rajya Sabha on Thursday unanimously passed the contentious Compensatory and Afforestation Fund (CAF) Bill, 2016 that allows States to access nearly Rs. 42,000 crore and channel into afforestation projects. While several parties had sought amendments over the weeks to the text of the Bill, none of them was formally moved.
Greater powers
The Bill, which establishes the National Compensatory Afforestation Fund and a State Compensatory Afforestation Fund under each State, was passed after Environment Minister Anil Dave assured the House that all objections raised — such as the provisions of the Bill vesting greater powers in the forest bureaucracy than on resident tribals; the possible violation of tribal rights, and gram panchayats not having the final say in deciding what kind of forests could be grown — would be addressed within the Rules of the Bill. Any deficiencies could be dealt with in future after a lapse of 1 year, he added. “The provisions of the Panchayati Raj Act are powerful enough to ensure that forest rights [of tribals] and consent of gram panchayats are respected,” said Mr. Dave.
Several members of the House also raised doubts on whether it would lead to an ecologically-sustainable replenishing of forests, and whether tribals were not persecuted by officialdom under the garb of regenerating forests. The Bill was first passed in the Lok Sabha during the UPA government’s tenure but was in cold storage after opposition in the Rajya Sabha. It was again cleared by the Lok Sabha this year after incorporating amendments.
This year, former Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh, in the Rajya Sabha, wanted an amendment to the Bill that would ensure that afforestation activities be undertaken only after making sure that the land did not belonged to tribals or forest dwellers, who were eligible, under the Forest Rights Act, to claim ownership over the forest land.
Former Environment Minister, Prakash Javadekar, who had piloted the Bill in the Lok Sabha this year, had stated that such an amendment was unnecessary as possible contraventions of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) had already been addressed.
On Thursday, Mr. Ramesh told the Rajya Sabha that he would not be moving the amendment after Mr. Dave’s “written assurance” that any deficiencies that might emerge in the course of the implementation of the Bill would be rectified.
