Section Text
FOREST (CONSERVATION) ACT, 1980 FOREST (CONSERVATION) ACT, 1980 WITH AMENDMENTS MADE IN 1988 An Act to provide for the conservation of forests and for matters connected therewith or ancillary or incidental thereto. Be it enacted by the Parliament in the Thirty " first year of the Republic of India as follows:- 1. Short title, extend and commencement "
(1) This Act may be called the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 (2) It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir (3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 25th day of October, 1980 2. Restriction on the de -reservation of forests or use of forest land for non forest purpose: Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force in a state, no state Government or other authority shall make , except with prior approval of the Central government , any order directing-
(i) that any reserve forest (within the meaning of the expression "reserved forest" in any law for the time being in force in that State ) or any portion thereof, shall cease to be reserved:
(ii) that any forest land or any portion there of may be used for any purpose non"forest purpose:
(iii) that any forest land or portion thereof may be assigned by way of lease or otherwise to any private person or to any authority , corporation , agency or any other Organization not owned , managed or controlled by Government.
(iv) That any forest land or any portion thereof maybe cleared of trees which have grown naturally in that land or portion , for the purpose of using it for Afforestation.
Explanation " For the purpose of this section "non " forest purpose" means the breaking up or clearing of any forest land or portion thereof for-
(a) the cultivation of tea, coffee, spices rubber, palms, oil-bearing plants, horticultural crops or medicinal plants:
(b) any purpose other than afforestation, but does not include any work relating or ancillary to conservation , development and management of forests and wildlife , namely, the establishment of check-posts, fire lines, wireless communication and construction of fencing , bridges and culverts, dams, waterholes, trench marks, boundary marks, pipelines or other like purposes. 3. Constitution of Advisory Committee- The Central Government may constitute a Committee consisting of such number of persons as it may deem fit to advice that Government with regard to-
(i) the grant of approval under