LAGATAR24 NETWORK
Ranchi, Dec. 2: Chief Minister Hemant Soren has shot off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expressing strong objections to the Forest Conservation Rules 2022, which, he said, brazenly dilute power of local gram sabha and uprooting the rights of millions of members of forest dwelling communities, particularly the Adivasis.
In his letter, Soren has pointed out that the rules have eliminated the earlier mandatory requirements of obtaining the prior consent of the Gram Sabha before utilizing forest land for non-forestry purposes. “To cut down trees without even an acquiescence from the people who look upon these trees as their ancestors is a painful attack on their sense of ownership,” he said.
“The new rules will end up uprooting the rights of these people who have called the forests their home for generations but whose rights could not be recorded. Their traditional lands may be snatched away in the name of development, and these simple, pure-hearted people of our country will have no say in destroying their habitat,” he has pointed out.
“Under the new rules a situation has now been created where once forest clearance is granted, everything else becomes a mere formality. Almost inevitably, the State government will be under even greater pressure from the Centre to accelerate the diversion of forest land,” Soren has said.
So, the Chief Minister has urged Modi to bring about changes in the forest conservation rules 2022 that will establish systems and procedures that protect the rights of the tribal and forest communities in the country.
