The lower house of India’s parliament Wednesday approved a controversial bill that will make diversion of forest land easier for development projects, a move opposed by environmentalists.
(Bloomberg) — The lower house of India’s parliament Wednesday approved a controversial bill that will make diversion of forest land easier for development projects, a move opposed by environmentalists.
The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, which lifts restrictions on using forest land for constructing border roads, water facilities, telecommunication services, zoos, public roads, cultivation of horticulture crops and eco-tourism projects in certain forests, was approved amid ruckus in parliament over the violence in Manipur state.
Federal Environment, Forest and Climate Minister Bhupender Yadav said the new law will help construction of border roads and public utilities and boost the country’s development.
Local media reports cited environmentalists as saying the legislation would result in more construction activity on forest land in the name of national and strategic imperatives.
More than a hundred retired Indian bureaucrats have expressed concerns over the bill, saying it “will prove to be the last nail in the coffin for the existing forest resources of the country,” online news website Scroll.in reported. Environmentalists, students and academicians have also objected to reclassification of forest areas, local newspaper The Indian Express reported.
The bill needs to be approved by parliament’s upper house and the President of India to become a law.
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