New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said, until further orders, the central government and state governments should not take any step, which would lead to reduction of forest area.
The matter came up before a bench comprising justices B R Gavai and K Vinod Chandran. The bench made it clear that it would not permit anything which leads to reduction of forest area.
"We will not permit anything which leads to reduction of forest area”, said the bench. “We further order that until further orders, no steps will be taken by the Union of India and any state which will lead to reduction of forest land unless compensatory land is provided by the Centre and the states...," it added.
Additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Centre, said she would file response on the applications filed in the matter within three weeks. A counsel informed the court that the pleadings were complete.
Bhati contended that a status report would also be placed before the court before the next date of hearing.
The bench was informed by a counsel that the issue raised in the pleas related to the amendments to forest conservation law of 2023. After hearing submissions, the bench has scheduled the matter for further hearing on March 4.
The apex court was hearing a batch of petitions against the amendments to the 2023 forest conservation law.
It was argued before the apex court, in February, last year, that the definition of forest under the 2023 amended law on conservation left out nearly 1.99 lakh square kilometre of forest land from the ambit of "forests" and made it available for other purposes.
The apex court had said that any fresh proposal for opening a zoo or starting a "safari" on forest land would now require its approval. The apex court had directed the states and UTs to provide the details of forest land within their jurisdiction to the Centre by March 31, 2024.
The apex court, in its interim order, asked the states and UTs to act as per the definition of "forest" as laid down by the top court in the 1996 judgment in the case of TN Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India.
