The supreme court on
March 28 said it would examine the constitutional validity of the
Forests Rights Act which provides right to land to scheduled tribes and
traditional forest dwellers. The court issued notices to the union and
the state governments on a petition challenging the validity of the act
that the union government notified in January 2008.
The petitioners, including Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), said
the parliament could not make such laws because forests were a
state-subject. They also said the act had several ambiguities which
would create problems in its implementation. BNHS alleged that the act
stands against the principles of sustainable development. The
petitioners, also including NGOs, Wildlife First and Nature
Conservation Society and Tiger Research and Conservation Trust, said
the act invades the powers of the gram sabha. They said phrases like
customary boundary of the village in the act are vague and cannot be
defined.
The petition sought whether natural heritages and similar natural
resources including forests would fall within the expression ‘right to
life and liberty’ guaranteed under article 21 of the constitution; and
whether the law would correct a “historical injustice or in reality
perpetuate the situation in which tribal people were forced to live at
the subsistence level”.
The apex court also directed that national parks and wildlife
sanctuaries should not be disturbed unless it is extremely necessary.
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