Dimapur: The Nagaland Legislative Assembly passed an 11-point resolution on the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act 2023, saying the Act would only be applicable to the state subject to the constitutional guarantees provided in Article 371(A) of the Constitution of India.
Environment Minister CL John moved the resolution on the floor of the House on the last day of the second session of the 14th assembly in Kohima on Thursday.
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The House was of the view that the term ‘land and its resources’ mentioned in Article 371(A) include forest lands and its resources and that the application of Section 1(A)(2) of the amended Act to Nagaland would jeopardise the existing rights of tribal communities on their forest lands and its resources.
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It resolved that the government of India must ensure that provisions contained in Section 1(A)(2) of the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act 2023 shall not be used to the detriment of the state and its people.
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It was also resolved to explore various options including the state enacting its own Act for the purpose of having its own compensatory mechanism wherein any diversion of even private or community-owned forest land for non-forestry purposes and damage to the environment is suitably compensated by the user agency, in addition to availing of benefits of the existing schemes of the central government in this regard.
According to the resolution, the amended Act had inserted a new Section, Section 1(A)(2), which exempted from the operation of the principal Act such forest lands situated within a distance of 100 km along international borders, Line of Control or Actual Line of Control, as the case may be, proposed to be used for construction of a strategic linear project of national importance and concerning national security.
The exempted area of 100 km from international borders will cover most parts of Nagaland where the ownership of most of the forest lands vests with tribal communities, it said.
The resolution added that a consultative meeting with various stakeholders on the Act was held on September 1, 2023, where the representatives of the various Naga tribal hohos/organisations expressed their strong objection to the application of Section 1(A)(2) of Act in Nagaland on the ground that it is likely to infringe on traditional ownership and usage of forest lands and its resources in the State of Nagaland.