NCST chairman Harsh Chouhan's concerns with the new Forest Conservation Rules

The former chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST), Harsh Chouhan, had expressed his “grave concerns” with the new Forest Conservation Rules, 2021, in a letter to the Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, before he resigned from his post on January 15.

According to a report by Newslaundry, Chouhan wrote that the rules, which were notified on December 31, 2021, without any public consultation, would “dilute” the rights of the forest-dwelling communities under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, and undermine the “very purpose” of the FRA.

Chouhan also pointed out that the rules violated the constitutional mandate of the NCST, which is to safeguard the interests of the scheduled tribes and advise the government on policy matters of them. He said that the rules were framed without consulting the NCST, which is a “serious lapse” and a “breach of trust”.

The new Forest Conservation Rules, 2021, aim to simplify the process to grant forest clearance for different developmental projects, including roads, railways, mining, dams and so on. Environmentalists, activists, and tribal groups, however, widely criticise these rules for bypassing the consent of the gram sabhas or village assemblies and reducing the role of the state governments and the NCST in forest governance.

Chouhan, who was appointed as the NCST chairman in October 2019, resigned from his post on January 15, citing “personal reasons”. However, his letter to the environment minister, dated January 11, suggests that he was unhappy with the way the new forest rules were notified without taking into account the views of the NCST and the forest-dwelling communities.

NCST meeting on forest rights cancelled without reason

The NCST wanted to discuss forest rights in July 2023. But the meeting was cancelled and no reason was given. Some people in the meeting said they were against the new Forest Conservation Rules, 2021, made by the environment ministry without consulting anyone. They also wanted to discuss a bill to change the Forest Conservation Act (FCA) that the Environment Ministry introduced in March 2023.

The NCST’s former chairman, Harsh Chouhan, had asked a group called TEER to make a report on the forest people’s rights in four states. The group’s leader, Milind Thatte, said they found that Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan did not recognize the forest people’s rights. They reported to the NCST in March 2023. They wanted to discuss the report in the cancelled meeting. However the report is not public yet because the NCST has not approved it.

Another person from the group said that the report showed many problems with the forest people’s rights. They also said that Chouhan’s letter to the environment minister about the new rules was why he resigned from the NCST. The letter said that the NCST did not agree with the new rules because they reduced the forest people’s rights.

This also caused trouble with the Congress party. Some Congress leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge and K Raju wrote to the NCST and asked them to tell the environment and tribal affairs ministries to respect the forest people’s rights. They said that the new rules were violating their rights.

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