LS nod to Forest Conservation Bill 2023; activists furious

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the controversial Forest Conservation Amendment Bill 2023 despite the disagreements from the members of the Joint Parliament Committee (JPC).

Passed, the Bill will now allow the government to build strategic linear projects for national importance or security on forests within 100 km of the international border.

It also gives the union government the exemption to acquire the forest land and use it for the development of tourism and defense infrastructure. However, it irked the environmental activists severely.

Speaking to News Trail, Ecologist Debadityo Sinha said the bill was passed in a hurry without accepting the proper concerns and recommendations of the other JPC members.

“The bill talks about the conservation for the forest but it is against it as it empowers the government to build strategic linear projects of national importance and concerning national security that will fall within 100km of international borders from them”, he said.