India Forest Act
Object
● The preamble of the Act clearly states its purpose: “An Act to consolidate the law relating to forests, the transit of forest produce, and the duty leviable on timber and other forest produce.” (Section 1 & Preamble).
● It empowers the Government to:
○ Declare certain forest areas as Reserved Forests (Section 3–20),
○ Regulate and manage Protected Forests (Sections 29–34),
○ Assign certain forests to village communities as Village Forests (Section 28).
● Object is both conservation-oriented (protecting forests from destruction) and regulatory (managing rights, trade, and duties on produce).
________________________________________
Salient Features
1. Classification of Forests
○ Reserved Forests (Sections 3–27): Most restrictive; activities like grazing, hunting, felling trees, or setting fire are prohibited without permission.
○ Village Forests (Section 28): Forests assigned to village communities for management.
○ Protected Forests (Sections 29–34): Government has rights to regulate usage but some rights of locals may exist.
2. Regulation of Rights
○ Section 5: Prohibits accrual of new rights after notification of a reserved forest.
○ Sections 12–16: Regulate rights to pasture, forest produce, and provide for commutation of rights.
3. Control over Forest Produce
○ Chapter VI (Sections 39–40): Power to impose duty on timber and forest produce.
○ Chapter VII (Sections 41–44): Regulates transit of forest produce and empowers State Government to make rules.
4. Management Powers
○ Sections 35–38: State may regulate private forests for soil, water conservation, and public health.
5. Rule-Making Powers
○ Sections 32, 51, 76: Empower the State to make rules regarding protected forests, drift timber, and other subsidiary matters.
________________________________________
Penal Provisions
1. Reserved Forests
○ Section 26: Prohibits acts like setting fire, illegal grazing, felling trees, quarrying stone, clearing land, hunting without permission.
○ Punishment: Up to 6 months imprisonment or ₹500 fine, or both (varies by state amendments).
2. Protected Forests
○ Section 33: Contravention of rules regarding reserved trees, quarrying, or fire results in 6 months imprisonment or ₹500 fine.
3. Transit & Trade Violations
○ Section 42: Breach of rules regulating timber/forest produce transit: imprisonment up to 6 months or fine up to ₹500.
4. General Penal Provisions
○ Chapter IX (Sections 52–69):
■ Section 52–55: Seizure and confiscation of tools, vehicles, and produce used in offences.
■ Section 64: Power to arrest without warrant.
■ Section 65–67: Provisions for release on bond, prevention of offences, and summary trials.
■ Section 68: Compounding of offences by authorized officers.
■ Section 69: Presumption that forest produce belongs to Government, unless proved otherwise.
5. Other Offences
○ Section 63: Counterfeiting/altering forest marks and boundary marks is punishable.
○ Section 77: Breach of subsidiary rules also attracts fines or imprisonment.