A view of a patch of the Bandipur forest, August 2021. Photo: Arjun MC/Unsplash
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has notified the Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2022 under the Forest Conservation Act which will let private developers cut down forests without first ensuring the consent of the inhabitants. This change, however, violates a provision of the Forest Rights Act.
The new rules threaten to remove the participation of forest-dwelling communities in the process of land clearance.
In this video of The Wire Explains, we break down the new rules and what they mean for the forest dwellers and their rights.