The Chhattisgarh State Forest Policy, 2001

{
    "id": 16171,
    "slug": "the-chhattisgarh-state-forest-policy-2001",
    "title": "The Chhattisgarh State Forest Policy, 2001",
    "short_title": "The Chhattisgarh State Forest Policy, 2001",
    "act_number": "Published vide Resolution No. F-7-42/2001/F.C., da",
    "act_year": 2001,
    "act_type": "STATE",
    "location": "Chhattisgarh",
    "law_status": "unknown",
    "enactment_date": null,
    "description": "The Chhattisgarh State Forest Policy, 2001",
    "preamble": "",
    "section_label": "Section",
    "sections": [
        {
            "number": "1",
            "title": "1. Preamble.",
            "chapter": null,
            "content": "",
            "footnote": "",
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            "sort_order": 0
        },
        {
            "number": "2",
            "title": "2. Basic objectives.",
            "chapter": null,
            "content": "* Unlocking of the vast array of forest resources on sustainable basis enhanced well-being of local people by converting these Open Access Resources (OAR) into community controlled, prioritized, protected and managed resources.\n* A shift in accent from major to minor forest produces, from crown to multi tier forestry and from flagship species to smaller denizens of the forests.\n* Maintenance of environmental stability through preservation and where necessary, restoration of ecological balance that has been adversely disturbed by serious depletion of forest in the State. Conserving the Bio-cultural heritage of the State by preserving the biologically rich natural forests that provide the essential cultural milieu to the tribals of the State.\n* Checking the denudation of forests and soil erosion in the catchment area of the rivers, and reservoirs for soil and water conservation; mitigating the floods and droughts; recharging of water bodies, aquifers and for the retardation of siltation of the reservoirs.\n* Increasing the forest/tree cover in forest deficient districts through afforestation and agro forestry/farm forestry programmes, especially on all denuded, degraded and unproductive lands.\n* Meeting the requirements of fuelwood, fodder, minor forest produce and small timber of the rural and tribal population with due regard to the carrying capacity, of the forests.\n* The derivation of direct economic benefit from the forests of the State shall be subordinated to the requirements of the environmental stability and maintenance of ecological balance in the State.\n* Creating appropriate policy and legal framework for the achievement of these objectives.",
            "footnote": "",
            "is_definition": false,
            "sort_order": 1
        },
        {
            "number": "3",
            "title": "3. Essentials of forest management.",
            "chapter": null,
            "content": "",
            "footnote": "",
            "is_definition": false,
            "sort_order": 2
        },
        {
            "number": "4",
            "title": "4. Strategy.",
            "chapter": null,
            "content": "4.1. Area under forests.\n4.2. management of State forests.\n4.2.2. In order to meet the growing needs of people for the essential goods and services that the forests provide, it is necessary to enhance the forest cover in forest deficient districts and to increase the productivity of the existing forests through appropriate scientific and technical inputs.\n4.2.3. No exotic species should be introduced, through public or private sources, unless long-term scientific trials undertaken by specialists in ecology, forestry, sociology and agriculture have established that they are suitable and have no adverse impact on indigenous vegetation, ecology and bio-cultural environment of the State.\n4.2.4. Joint Forest Management (JFM) practices should form the basis of forest management in the State. Necessary provisions should be made for the adequate participation at all levels of decision making by the landless, marginal farmers and women in all JFM bodies like the VFC (Village Forest Committee), FPC (Forest Protection Committee) and EDC (Eco Development Committee).\nThe abundant potential of people living in rural and forest areas should be tapped for sound participatory forest management. Efforts should be made to facilitate assistance from financial institutions to the forest dwellers engaged in forest based economic activity for furthering participatory forest management in the State.\n4.2.5. For sustainable forest development, livelihood security and bio-cultural diversity conservation, People's Protected Areas (PPAs) should be established. This paradigm shift of adaptive management can reconcile the dichotomy of threat perception arising out of conservation-development orthodoxy by taking into account the human sensitivities like their socio-cultural norms, beliefs and systems borne out of history, culture and traditions.\n4.3. Rights and Concessions.\n4.3.1. The provision of Nistar, should always remain related to the carrying of the forests. The capacity itself should be optimized by increased investment in sylvicultural research and socioeconomic development of the area. Stall feeding of cattle should be encouraged. The requirements of the community, which cannot be met from the existing forests, should be met from plantations under social forestry/agro forestry/farm forestry in areas outside the natural forests.\n4.3.2. The holders of customary rights and concessions in forest areas should be motivated to identify themselves with the protection and development of forests from which they derive these benefits. The rights and concessions from forests should primarily be for the bona fide use of the communities living within a radius of five kilometres from the existing natural forests. It is visualized that the JFM practices will motivate people to keep their customary rights and concessions on forests within the carrying capacity of the forests.\n4.3.3. The socio-economic and cultural life of tribals and other communities living within and near forests revolves around the forests. Their domestic requirements of fuelwood, fodder, minor forest produce and construction timber should be the first charge on the forests of the area. The rights and concessions enjoyed by them should be protected, with due regard to the demands of the conservation of biological diversity in the area.\n4.4. Management of Sal and Bamboo Forests.\n4.5. Conservation of Minor Forest Products (MFP).\n4.5.1. The State should take appropriate measures through the Chhattisgarh State MFP (Trade and Development) Co-operative Federation Ltd. for sustainable utilization and long term conservation of all MFP found within the forests of the State.\n4.5.2. The State should take necessary steps for endowing the ownership rights of MFP on local communities as per the provisions of the Panchayat Upbandh (Anusuchit Chetron Ka Vistaar) Adhiniyam, 1996.\n4.6. Conservation of Medicinal Plants.\n4.7. Protection of Forests.\n4.7.1. Protection mechanisms should be strengthened by involving local people through village level committees. These committees should be empowered and provided special incentives to prevent the forest offences.\n4.7.2. A 'Forest Crime Bureau' with an adequate legal and statistical base should be established for a systematic tackling of crimes and criminals in the forest areas.\n4.7.3. Steps should be taken for the establishment of special Courts at the district level for quick disposal of forest offence cases.\n4.7.4. Grazing regulation in forests should be made more effective through community participation. Grazing by livestock inside the forests should not exceed the carrying capacity of the forest.\n4.7.5. Fire in forests should be strictly controlled. Improved and modern techniques for forest fire prevention and control as well as tools like GIS (Geographical Information System) and remote sensing should be utilized for fire control.\n4.8. Diversion of Forest Lands for Non-forest Purposes.\n4.8.2. Beneficiaries who are allowed mining and quarrying in forest land and in land covered by trees should be required to adopt cluster approach in mining and to repair and re-vegetate the area, after having used it, in accordance with the Government of India guidelines and established forestry practices. Rehabilitation of the mined areas should be done to ensure ecological restoration of the affected site.\n4.9. Bio-cultural Diversity Conservation.\n* Intensification of surveys and inventorization of bio-cultural resources in different parts of the State. The survey should include information on the distribution pattern of various species/population/communities and the status of ethnobiologically important groups.\n* Conservation of bio-diversity through the establishment of a representative network of protected areas including Biosphere Reserves, National Parks, Sanctuaries, Gene conservation centres, and People's Protected Area. Such areas should cover sites of exceptional taxonomic and ecological value in terms of flora and fauna with adequate emphasis on the lower vertebrate, invertebrate and micro flora, which are important for the maintenance of healthy ecosystems. Tribals and the rural people displaced if any, due to creation of such national parks biosphere reserves/or gene conservation centres should be fully and properly rehabilitated on such sites and in such manner that their standard of living after the rehabilitation is markedly improved.\n* Legal and administrative measures should be taken for the protection of State's bio-cultural diversity against bio-piracy and for sustainable use of plant and animal genetic resources. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) of the people of the State specially the tribals should be zealously guarded. Domesticated species/varieties of plants and animals should be conserved as an integral part of the State's rich genetic diversity.\n* Crucial corridors between national parks, sanctuaries, forests and other protected areas should be identified and notified for linking them to maintain genetic continuity of flora and fauna. Such areas should be managed with prescriptions favouring wildlife requirements like the retention of snags, natural gaps, grassy areas, special lithic habitats, caves, cliffs, den sites and water bodies, etc.\n* Modern techniques of ex situ conservation like 'tissue culture' and biotechnology should be promoted for the preservation of endangered and threatened species of wild flora and fauna.\n* Monoculture and planting of exotic flora species should be avoided unless sufficient experimentation on strict scientific lines has established their usefulness. Exotic faunal species should not be introduced into the forests of the State.\n* Tribals and other indigenous people of the State, residing in and around forest areas, with rich cultural traditions and practices, should be encouraged to maintain their unique relationship with the forest for mutual benefit. Unique geographical and cultural landscapes existing in protected areas should be managed keeping in view the conservation of bio-cultural diversity of the State.\n4.9.2. Forest management should take special care of the needs of bio-cultural diversity conservation of the State and the forest management/working plans should include specific prescriptions for this purpose. Wild life management plans should be prepared for each protected area of the State. Biotic pressures on protected areas should be managed through eco developmental activities with the active involvement of the local communities.\n4.10. Afforestation, Social Forestry & Farm Forestry.\n4.10.2. Planting of trees along side of roads, railway lines, rivers, streams and canals, and on other unutilized lands under the State, corporate, institutional or private ownership should be encouraged. Green belts should be raised in urban/industrial/ mined out areas. Such a programme will also help to improve the microclimate of the concerned area.\n4.10.3. The village and community lands not required for other productive uses, should be taken up for the development of tree crops and fodder resources. Technical assistance and other inputs necessary for initiating such programmes should be provided by the State Government, public sector undertakings and the agricultural universities.\nThe revenue generated through such programmes should belong to the panchayat where the lands are vested in them. In all other cases, such revenue should be shared with the local communities. The vesting, in individuals, particularly from the weaker sections (such as landless labour, small and marginal farmers, scheduled castes, tribals, women and BPL) of ownership rights over trees, should be considered, subject to appropriate regulations. Beneficiaries should be entitled to usufruct from the trees and in turn be responsible for their safety and maintenance.\n4.10.4. The State Land Revenue Code (LRC) and the forest laws should be suitably modified along with the simplication of felling, transit and trading rules, wherever necessary, to facilitate and motivate individuals and institutions to undertake tree-farming and the growing of tree crops on their own land.\n4.10.5. The management plan/working prescriptions should be strictly followed for raising plantations inside the government forest areas.\n4.10.6. Irrigated and high input plantation of tree crops should be encouraged for meeting the timber demand of the State. The State Forest Development Corporation FDC should play a pivotal role in this endeavour.\n4.11. Production of Biomass.\n4.11.1. The management/working plan prescriptions should guide the production of biomass including timber from the forests of the State. Necessary steps to promote efficient conversion and utilization of timber should be promoted for the maximization of resource use.\n4.11.2. Promotion of alternative sources of domestic energy should be taken up on a priority basis to reduce pressures of forests for the supply of fuelwood.\n4.12. Forest based Industries.\n4.12.1. No forest based enterprise, except that at the village or cottage level, should be allowed in future without a proper ecological, cultural and social impact assessment. The fuel, fodder and timber requirements of the local population should not be sacrificed for raw material supplies to such enterprises.\n4.12.2. Direct relationship between forest based industry and farmers should be encouraged to meet the raw material requirement of the industry. This industry-farmer collaboration should in no way be allowed to result in diversion of prime agricultural lands and displacement of small and marginal farmers.\n4.12.3. The bio-mass resources of the State should not be subsidized to the industry, which should be encouraged, to the extent possible, to use alternative non-forest raw material.\n4.12.4. Allotment of land to the industry should be subject to land ceiling and other land laws of the State. Such industry should not in any way be allowed to adversely affect the socio-cultural traditions of the tribals and other communities living in the State.\n4.12.5. Appropriate institutional and technological systems should be developed to enable rural artisans to sustain their bio-mass based crafts and enterprise.\n4.13. Tribal People and Forests.\n* Protection, regeneration and non-destructive harvesting of minor forest produce in collaboration with the local people specially tribals, and provision of institutional arrangements for the marketing of such produce.\n* Conversion of forest villages into revenue villages.\n* Community based schemes for improving the economic status of the tribals.\n* Undertaking integrated area development programmes to meet the needs of the tribal economy and to reduce the pressure on the existing forests.\n4.14. Forest Extension.\n4.14.1 Promotion of nature tourism. - Nature tourism or eco-tourism that utilizes the forest scenic spots as well as the opportunities provided by the protected areas for wildlife viewing should be seen as a forest extension activity. This activity should also be promoted as a revenue generating mechanism that can benefit the rural communities through their active involvement in promotion of eco-tourism.\n4.14.1 Promotion of nature tourism.\n4.15. Forestry Education.\n4.16. Forestry research.\n* Evolving innovative multi-tier silvicultural systems with integrated ecosystem approach.\n* Increasing the productivity of non-wood forest produce per unit of area per unit time by the application of modern scientific, silvicultural and technological methods.\n* Revegetation of barren/marginal/waste/mined lands and watershed areas.\n* Effective conservation and management of existing natural forest resources.\n* Social forestry, farm forestry and agro-forestry.\n* Establishment of modern nurseries in all districts by the department as well as by private individuals.\n* Emerging areas like the joint forest management and appropriate silvicultural practices; efficient utilization of forest resources; women and tribal empowerment; role of forestry in poverty alleviation; social and livelihood analysis of forest dependent communities; forest policy, cultivation and marketing of medicinal plants; conservation of threatened and endangered species of wild flora and fauna; forest management at landscape level; conservation of bio-cultural values of forests; etc.\n4.17. Personnel management and capacity building.\n4.17.1. The Government should ensure sustained availability of trained manpower at every level of the forest department's hierarchy. There should be regular recruitment of forest staff.\n4.17.2. Specialized and orientation courses for in-service foresters should be conducted on a regular basis. Management development programmes incorporating the latest developments in forestry and related disciplines, should be promoted.\n4.18. Application of Information Technology into Forestry.\n4.18.2. Use of Geographical Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) in forest management.\nGeographical Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) technology has important applications in forestry. A full-fledged GIS centre for rapid adoption of these technologies into the planning, implementation and monitoring of forestry plans and schemes should be established.\n4.18.3. Promotion of Electronic Governance in Forestry.\nElectronic governance, which is the application of information technology to the process of governance has assumed importance in all walks of life. Forest administration should be encouraged to maximize the use of e-technology in all its operations specially that which pertains to public dealing.\n4.19. Legal support and infrastructure development.\n4.20. Financial support for Forestry.\n4.21. Epilogue.",
            "footnote": "",
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    ],
    "metadata": {
        "Act ID": "cg089",
        "Act Number": "Published vide Resolution No. F-7-42/2001/F.C., dated 22-10-2001, published in the Chhattisgarh Rajpatra (Asadharan), at page 500 (12)",
        "Enactment Date": "",
        "Act Year": "2001",
        "Short Title": "The Chhattisgarh State Forest Policy, 2001",
        "Type": "STATE",
        "Location": "Chhattisgarh"
    },
    "updated_at": "2026-09-29 21:55:19"
}