Congress asks Centre to repeal new 'anti-Adivasi' laws

New Delhi: Congress has asked the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes to take note of the violation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 and ask the Center in the public interest to withdraw the new forest protection laws.

The party alleged that the STs and other traditional forest dwellers (OTFD) would be disempowered, dispossessed and displaced due to the new forest protection laws and would create conflict in tribal areas.

AICC national coordinator SC, ST, OBC and minority departments K Raju said in a letter to the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) Chairperson Harsh Chauhan that the Ministry of Environment Forest Climate Change (MoEFCC) has notified the new Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2022 on June 29, and alleged that these rules have been notified without any public consultation with the stakeholders.

Criticizing the central government's move to introduce new rules, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh shared Raju's letter to the NCST on Twitter and slammed the rules as "anti-Adivasi".

Raju said in his letter that the FC Rules 2022 would replace the earlier 2003 Forest Conservation Rules and its amendments in 2004, 2014 and 2017

Raju said that the FC Rules 2022 completely "undermine and violate" the Forest Rights Act, 2006 by diluting the legal requirements to ensure compliance with the FRA and seeking the consent of the gram sabha before diverting forest land.

The letter dated July 12 said that the new rules violate the statutory legal mandate to ensure compliance of FRA and the consent of Gram Sabha before the diversion of forest land as already established as per the guideline of MoEFCC issued on August 3, 2009, the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Orissa Mining Corporation vs the MoEF & others, 2013 and the FC Rules of 2017.

It must be pointed out that even the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MOTA) had earlier written letters to MoEFCC clarifying the position of the law to ensure compliance with FRA before approving forest deviations and objected to the Ministry of Environment circular of February that waived the need to ensure FRA compliance in Phase 1 of granting in-principle approval.

The letter also added that the Union government abdicates its constitutional duty to safeguard the legal rights of STs and OTFDs and forces state governments to commit illegality by asking to seek compliance of FRA after receiving the final approval of the Central Government for the diversion of forest land, i.e after the final decision for diverting forest land is already taken and the payment for compensatory afforestation from user agencies has been collected.

"The notification of FC Rules 2022 will lead to forest diversions across states without settling the rights of STs and OTFDs and without seeking the consent of Gram Sabhas," Raju said.

"That will lead further to disempowerment, dispossession, and displacement of STs and OTFDs, and will fuel conflicts in tribal areas," he contended.

"The NCST is urged to take note of the violation of FRA and constitutional and statutory rights of STs due to the notification of FC Rules 2022 and issue directions to the Central Government and the MOEFCC to withdraw the Rules in the public interest," he said in his letter.

Raju requested the NCST to direct the MoEFCC to follow the procedures that have been put in place for consultation with the public and parliamentary scrutiny before notifying the rules. He also requested NCST to direct MoEFCC and MoTA to ensure strict compliance with FRA before approving forest diversions.

With inputs from PTI