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    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).
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    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.
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    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.

    Click here to download Indian Forest Act, 1927 (Amendment) Act, 2017 in .PDF format (Size: 500 KB, Format: PDF, Language: English)