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Forest Protection Act

The Forest Protection Act of 1927 consolidated previous forest laws and gave the government power to designate Reserved Forests and Protected Forests. Reserved Forests could only be used by the government, while Protected Forests allowed controlled use by local people. Some forests were designated as village Forests to be controlled by local communities. This act aimed to protect forests for timber production but was later amended to also consider forests' other values like biodiversity. The Forest Conservation Act of 1980 and amendments in 1988 refocused forest policy on conservation, local community needs, environmental stability, and expanding protected areas. The act specified penalties for deforestation offenses in Reserved and Protected Forests.

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132 views2 pages

Forest Protection Act

The Forest Protection Act of 1927 consolidated previous forest laws and gave the government power to designate Reserved Forests and Protected Forests. Reserved Forests could only be used by the government, while Protected Forests allowed controlled use by local people. Some forests were designated as village Forests to be controlled by local communities. This act aimed to protect forests for timber production but was later amended to also consider forests' other values like biodiversity. The Forest Conservation Act of 1980 and amendments in 1988 refocused forest policy on conservation, local community needs, environmental stability, and expanding protected areas. The act specified penalties for deforestation offenses in Reserved and Protected Forests.

Uploaded by

Debattri Das
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Forest Protection Act (1927) of India

The Indian Forest Act of 1927 consolidated all the previous laws regarding forests that were passed
before the 1920s. The Act gave the Government and Forest Department the power to create Reserved
Forests, and the right to use Reserved Forests for Government use alone.

It also created Protected Forests, in which the use of resources by local people was controlled. Some
forests were to be controlled by the village community, and these were called village Forests. The Act
remained in force till the 1980s when it was realized that protecting forests for timber production alone
was not acceptable. The other values of protecting the services that forests provide and its valuable
assets such as biodiversity began to overshadow the importance of their revenue earnings from timber.

This led to the Forest Conservation Act of 1980 and its amendment 1988. India’s first Forest Policy was
enunciated in 1952. Between 1952 and 1988, the extent of deforestation was so great that it became
essential to formulate a new policy on forests and their utilization.

The earlier forest policies had focused only on revenue generation. In the 1980’s it became clear that
forests must be protected for their other functions such as the maintenance of soil and water regimes
centered on ecological concerns. It also provided for the use of goods and services of the forest for its
local inhabitants.

The new policy framework made conversion of forests into other uses much less possible. Conservation
of the forests as a natural heritage finds a place in the new policy, which includes the preservation of its
biological diversity and genetic resources.

It also values meeting the needs of local people for food, fuel wood, fodder and Non-Timber Forest
Produces (NTFPs). It gives priority to maintaining environmental stability and ecological balances. It
expressly states that the network of Protected Areas should be strengthened and extended.

These states had regularized encroachments and resettled ‘project Affected people’ from development
projects such as dams in these de-reserved areas. The need for a new legislation became urgent. The Act
made it possible to retain a greater control over the frightening level of deforestation in the country and
specified penalties for offenders.

Penalties:

 Penalties for offences in Reserved Forests:

No person is allowed to make clearing or set fire to a reserved forest. Cattle are not permitted to
trespass into the reserved forest, cutting, collecting of timber, bark or leaves, quarrying or collecting any
forest products is punishable with imprisonment for a term of six months or with a fine which may
extended to Rs. 500 or both.
 Penalties for offences in protected Forests:

a. A person who commits any of the following offences like cutting of trees, stripping the bark or leaves
of trees, set fire to such forests or permits cattle to damage any tree, shall be punishable with
imprisonment for a term which may extended to six months or with a fine which any extended to Rs.
500 or both.

b. Any forest officer even without an order from the magistrate or a warrant can arrest any person
against whom a reasonable suspicion exists.

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