📖 Background & Purpose

• The Forest Conservation Act (FCA), 1980 was enacted to check rapid deforestation caused by diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes
• Before FCA 1980, state governments could divert forest land without central approval — leading to massive deforestation
• FCA 1980 made it mandatory to obtain prior approval of the Central Government before diverting any forest land for non-forest use
• Came into force: 25 October 1980
• Administered by MoEFCC; Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) advises on forest clearances
• Amended in 1988; significantly amended by the Van Sanrakshan Evam Janjeev Suraksha Adhiniyam, 2023

🌳 Key Provisions of FCA 1980

• Section 2 — No state government or other authority shall make, except with prior approval of Central Government, any order directing:
  • That any reserved forest shall cease to be reserved
  • That any forest land or any portion thereof may be used for any non-forest purpose
  • That any forest land may be assigned by way of lease or otherwise to any private person or corporation
  • That any forest land may be cleared of trees for the purpose of reafforestation
• Non-forest purpose = breaking up or clearing of any forest land for cultivation of any crop other than tea, coffee, spices, rubber, palms, oil-bearing plants, horticultural crops, or medicinal plants; or for any purpose other than reafforestation
• Penalty: imprisonment up to 15 days for violation

🌱 Compensatory Afforestation

• When forest land is diverted, the project proponent must carry out compensatory afforestation on equivalent non-forest land (or double the area of degraded forest land)
• The project proponent must also pay Net Present Value (NPV) of the forest — the economic value of ecosystem services lost
• NPV ranges from ₹4.38 lakh to ₹10.43 lakh per hectare depending on forest type and density
• CAMPA = Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority
• CAMPA Act 2016 — established a national fund and state funds for compensatory afforestation; funds collected from project proponents are used for afforestation and forest management
• As of 2023, CAMPA funds exceed ₹60,000 crore — but utilisation has been slow

📜 Forest Rights Act, 2006

• The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 — commonly called the Forest Rights Act (FRA)
• Recognises the rights of forest-dwelling communities (Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers) over forest land and resources
• Types of rights recognised:
  • Individual rights — right to cultivate forest land occupied before 13 December 2005
  • Community rights — right to use community forest resources (grazing, fishing, collection of minor forest produce)
  • Community forest resource rights — right to protect, regenerate, and manage community forest resources
• FRA requires gram sabha consent before forest land can be diverted for development projects
• Administered by Ministry of Tribal Affairs

✅ Revision Checklist — FCA 1980