Guess what’s making waves on the legal scene? The Supreme Court is diving into the drama around the amended forest conservation law, and it’s getting pretty intense.
So, here’s the scoop: The law tweak in 2023 seems to give a thumbs-up to non-forest uses by excluding a massive chunk of land from the ‘forest’ label. The court is now on it, telling states to spill the beans on their forest lands by March 31. The Ministry of Environment is then supposed to publish all the details on its website by April 15. This will cover everything from “forest-like areas” to community forest land.
And hold on! The court now says;
“No zoos or safaris in forests without our nod.”
It’s like they’re dropping the mic on any plans for opening zoos or safaris on forest lands until the identification process is done.
People are buzzing about how the amended law narrows down the definition of “forest” from what the Supreme Court laid out in 1996. The law now says the land must be officially recognized as a forest or recorded as one.
Aishwarya Bhati, the Centre’s Additional Solicitor General, backs the amendments, saying;
They’re in line with the court’s previous judgments. But you know how legal battles work – it’s a rollercoaster.
