Deemed Forests

Why in news?

• Karnataka announced in the Assembly that the state government would soon declassify 6.64 lakh hectares of the 9.94 lakh hectares of deemed forests in the state (nearly 67%) and hand it over to Revenue authorities.
• The move has been taken after a study of the actual extent of deemed forest areas by local committees headed by officials from the Revenue, Forest and Land Records Departments in every district.

About deemed forests:

• The issue of deemed forests is a contentious one in Karnataka, with legislators across party lines often alleging that large amounts of agriculture and non-forest land are “unscientifically” classified as such.
• While the concept of deemed forests has not been clearly defined in any law including the Forest Conservation Act of 1980, the Supreme Court in the case of T N Godavarman Thirumalpad (1996) accepted a wide definition of forests under the Act.
• An expert committee constituted by the Karnataka government after the Supreme Court order identified ‘deemed forests’ as “land having the characteristic of forests irrespective of the ownership’”; Thickly wooded areas of the Revenue Department not handed over to the Forest Department; thickly wooded areas recommended to be handed over to the Forest Department; thickly wooded land distributed to grantees but not cultivated; and thickly wooded plantations of the Forest Department could all be ‘deemed forests’.

Demands to reclassify:

• Reports by expert committees in 1997 and 2002 identified 43.18 lakh hectares of forest land for conservation in Karnataka, which included 33.23 lakh hectares notified forest area as per forest records and 9.94 lakh hectares ‘deemed forests.
• Due to criticism that the classification move hit farmers, as well as barred large tracts from mining, the state has been arguing that the classification was done without taking into account needs of people.
• Since then government has looked at the issue and decided the amount of deemed forest land to be released as 6.64 lakh hectares.
• Since Preservation of forest areas in India under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 has been continuously monitored by the Supreme Court since the Godavarman case judgment in 1996, the state government must obtain clearances from the Supreme Court for affecting changes to land classified as deemed forests.

PRELIMS QUESTION

Which of the following conservation areas are declared in India as per Wildlife protection act?
1.Wildlife Sanctuary
2.Community reserve
3.Eco-Sensitive Zones
4.Coastal regulation zones
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a)1 and 2 only
(b)1 and 3 only
(c)1,2,3 only
(d)1,2,3,4

Answer to prelims question