On 26 July 2023, the Loksabha passed the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2023, replacing the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. This at a time when there should have instead been widespread celebrations commemorating 51 years of Silent Valley Movement and 50 years of Chipko Andolan, the two biggest people’s movements on ecological conservation in the country, which proved critical in enacting[Read More…]
To Smt. Droupadi Murmu The President of India Respected Rashtrapati Ji, I write this in continuation of my earlier letter dated 5-7-2023 addressed to your office (https://countercurrents.org/2023/07/take-the-ncst-into-confidence-prior-to-implementing-policies-and-projects-in-tribal-areas/) on the need for the executive to hold prior consultation with the National Commission for the Scheduled Tribes (NCST) as required under Article 338A(9) of the Constitution before initiating any legislative action/ policy changes,[Read More…]
The recent debate on amendment of forest conservation law has seen the emergence of very relevant objections, and interests of environment protection as well as democracy demand that now the government should give adequate attention and importance to these objections. The advantages which a democracy provides in terms of the possibilities of corrective actions can be properly realized only if[Read More…]
To Ms Leena Nandan Secretary Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MEFCC) Govt of India Dear Ms Nandan, I understand that your Ministry has taken action to introduce a Bill to amend the Forest (Conservation) Rules in the Parliament during the ensuing winter session. The Bill has far reaching implications for the lives of the adivasis across the country[Read More…]
How will you feel if someone promises to remove an injustice you have suffered for years, but in the end leaves you suffering even more than before? Something similar appears to be happening to tribal communities in India in the context of the Forest Rights Act 2006. They were promised by the government that the historic injustice caused to them[Read More…]
To Smt Leena Nandan Secretary Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MEFCC) Govt of India Shri A K Jha Secretary Ministry of Tribal Affairs Govt of India Dear Smt Nandan and Shri Jha, I refer to the amendment introduced by the MEFCC to the Forest (Conservation) Rules vide GSR 480(E) dated 28-6-2022, in which the procedure for[Read More…]
While nominating Mrs. Draupadi Murmu,as candidate to President of India, ruling BJP boasted a savior of tribal people. However, by proposing changes to Forest Rights Act, 2006, the government is doing quite the opposite by subverting the interests of tribal people to benefit big companies. During the current monsoon session of Indian Parliament new rules are proposed to the present[Read More…]
The population of Tribals (Scheduled Tribes) in Uttar Pradesh is 11.35 lakhs of which 80% are landless. That is why the Forest Rights Act – 2006 and Rules 2008 came into force for the empowerment of Tribals. Under this law, Tribals and non-Tribals living in a Reserve Forest area were to be given a lease of residential and agricultural[Read More…]
India is currently among the most affected countries by COVID19, recording 6 million cases, by the end of September 2020. The pandemic and lockdown measures have had a drastic impact on a large population of poor and marginalised forest communities, causing loss of livelihoods and employment, food insecurity and socio-economic distress. As per the findings of a preliminary assessment report,[Read More…]
The Supreme Court order of February 13, 2019 on the forced eviction of more than 1,000,000 forest-dwelling households from forestlands across 16 states, once again brought to the fore the sharp ideological divide around the politics of ‘forest’ land ownership. Articulations by the ‘conservation’ lobby in support of the order also exposed the deep misconceptions and factual misunderstanding of the[Read More…]
Nichlagarh, an adivasi village in the forest region of Southern Rajasthan, is caught between the bureaucratic regime of the Forestry Department (FD) of India and progressive legislation that claims to restore the traditional rights of commoners. While the state has its own ideas about how villagers should manage their forest commons and their lives, the women of this adivasi community have stepped forward as the knowledge keepers, managers of the forests and champions of democratic representation to protect the right to common.
The new paper ‘A Framework for Reforming India’s Forest Biodiversity Management Regime’ by Dr S. Faizi and Dr M. Ravichandran published in the UN journal Natural Resources Forum in its August 2016 issue provides a rare insight into India’s forest management and outlines a trajectory for reforming the forest management departing from the colonial approach and taking on board the[Read More…]
Today was a black day for forest dwellers’ rights. The Rajya Sabha has passed the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2016. This Bill essentially gives carte blanche to forest officials to spend gigantic amounts of money (over 40,000 crores) without any accountability to the people whose forests, lands and lives will be damaged or destroyed by their activities. The Congress moved[Read More…]
A letter send to Shri Hamid Ansari Chairman of Rajyasabha by concerned citizens on the Compensatory Afforestation Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) Bill that is being considered by the house
Other than the fact that elections are being conducted it cannot be said that there is Government in India. The upper caste, which constitutes barely 5 to 7% of the population of the country, has hijacked it. In 2015 2 crore Indians travelled abroad, or around1.6% of the population. If each of these 2 crore people had one crore in[Read More…]
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Breadcrumb 
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My Amma (Malayalam word for Mother) passed away on August 22, 2023 at 3.10 AM. It is always difficult to deal with the passing of a parent, that too one’s mother. I thought the grief would go away. No it didn’t. All those bitter sweet memories won’t go away. At night I lie awake for hours. My friend, guide and[Read More…]
