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The Forest Act, 1927

ENVIORNMENT LAW

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y RESERVED FOREST

The Forest Act, 1927 makes provisions with regard to four

kinds of forests. They are reserved forests, village forests,protected forests and a-government (private) forests. The

provisions relating to reserved forests contained from

sections 3 to 26.

The Forest Act, 1927 is a Central legislation but S. 3 of theAct empowers the State Government to declare ay forest

area to be a reserve forest. The Central Government has

kept itself aloof in this matter. Section 3, while empowering

the State Government to declare a reserve forest has laiddown the guidelines with regard to declaration of reserve

forest. It lays down that

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y any forest land or waste land which is the

property of Government; ory any forest land or waste land over which the

Government has proprietary rights; or

y

Government is entitled to the whole or anypart of the forest produce;

y such forest or waste land may be declared to

be a reserved forest by the State Government.

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y Procedure for declaring reserved forest.

y Once the Government has decided to declare or constitute any land tobe a reserved forest, it shall issue notification under section 4 of the Act

in the official Gazette containing the following information:y that the Government has decided to constitute a land a reserved forest

y the State will specify, as nearly as possible, the situation and limit of suchland through roads, rivers, bridges or other well known or readilyintelligible boundaries

ythe State will appoint an officer to be known as the Forest SettlementOfficer 'to enquire into and determine the existence, nature and extentof any right alleged to exist in favour of any person in or over any landcomprised within such limits or in or over any forest produce and todeal with the same in the manner provided in the Act.

y The Forest Settlement Officer shall hold no other forest office. TheState Government may, however, appoint any number of ForestSettlement Officers but in no case more than three out of whom notmore than one shall be a person holding any forest office to perform theduties of a forest settlement officer.

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y Section 20 of the Act deals with notification declaring forest reserved. It

provides that

y

(1) when the following events have occurred, namely :y the period fixed for preferring claims has elapsed and all claims have

been disposed of by the Forest Settlement Officer,

y if any such claims have been, made and the period of limitation for

presenting appeal from the order passed on such claim has elapsed andall appeals, if any, presented within such period have been disposed of

the appellate officer or court, and

y all lands to be included in the proposed forests which the' Forest

Settlement Officer has elected to acquire under Section 11 of the Land

Acquisition Act, 1894' have become vested in the Government underSection 16 of that Act.

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y The Forest Officer shall before the date fixed by suchnotification cause a translation thereof into the localvernacular to be published in every town and village inthe neighbourhood of the forest.

y When a notification has been issued under section 4, theForest Settlement Officer shall publish in the localvernacular in every town and village in theneighbourhood of the land comprised therein

proclamation :y specifying as nearly as possible the situation and limits of

the proposed forest

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y fixing a period of not less than three months from the date of

such proclamation and requiring every person claiming any right

to be present to the Forest Settlement Officer within such periodeither a notice in writing or to appear before him and state the

nature of such right and the amount and particulars of the

compensation, if any, claimed in respect of such right. (Section 6).

y Section 7 empowers the Forest

Settlement Officer to take down

in writing all statements made under section 6 and to enquire

into all claims duly preferred for the purpose of enquiry. The

Forest Settlement Officer may look the records of Government

and take the evidence, if any, of persons likely to be acquainted

with the same. For the purpose of such enquiry the Forest

Settlement Officer may exercise under section 8 of the Act the

following powers :

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y power to enter, by himself or any officer authorized by him for

the purpose, upon any land and to survey, demarcate and make a

map of the. same, andy powers of a civil court in the trial of suits.

y The powers of civil court have been conferred on the Forest

Settlement Officer so that he may not feel handicapped while

making enquiry into the claims of the person before him.y Section 9 of the Act provides that rights in respect of which no

claim has been preferred under Section 6 and of the existence of

which no knowledge has been acquired by inquiry under Section

7, shall be extinguished, unless before the notification undersection 20 is published, the person claiming them satisfies the

Forest Settlement Officer that he had sufficient cause for not

preferring such claim within the period fixed under section 6.

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y Bar of accrual of forest right.Section 5 of the Act provides thatafter the issue of;-a notification under Section 4, no right shall beacquired in or over the land comprised in such notification, except by

succession or under a grant or contract in writing made or entered intoby or on behalf of the Government or some person in whom such rightwas vested when the notification was issued; and no fresh clearings forcultivation or for any other purpose shall be made in such land exceptin accordance with such rules as may be made by the State Government

in this behalf.y Powers of Forest Settlement Officer with regard to reserved

forest

y With regard to claims of shifting cultivation (S. 10) where a claimrelating to shifting cultivation is made, he shall record a statementsetting forth the particulars of the claim and of any local rule or orderunder which the practice is allowed or regulated and submit thestatement to the State Government together with his opinion as towhether the practice should be permitted or prohibited wholly or inpart [S. 10 (4)].

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y On receipt of the statement and opinion, the State

Government may make an order permitting or prohibiting

the practice wholly or in party Power to acquire land over which right is claimed

(S. 11).In the case of a claim to a right in or over any land,

other than a right of way or right of pasture or a right of

forest produce or a watercourse, the Forest SettlementOfficer shall pass an order admitting or rejecting the same in

whole or in part

y Power to pass order on claims to right of pasture or

to forest produce (S. 12).In case of a claim to right of

pasture or to forest produce, the Forest Settlement Officer

shall pass an order admitting or rejecting the same in whole

or in part.

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y Commutation of right (S. 16).In case, if the ForestSettlement Officer finds it impossible, having due regard tothe maintenance of the reserved forest to make suchsettlement under Section 15 as such ensure the continuedexercise of the said right to the extent so admitted, he shall,subject to such rules as the State Government may make inthis regard commute such right; by the payment to such

persons of a sum of money in lieu thereof, or by the grant ofland or in such other manner as he thinks fit.

y Duties.With regard to reserve forests, the ForestSettlement Officer shall be subject to followingresponsibilities :

y 1. To make records (S.13).The Forest SettlementOfficer when passing any order under section 12 shallrecord, as far as may be practicable

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y the name, father's name, caste, residence and occupation of the personclaiming the right; and

y

the designation, position and area of the field or groups of fields, if any,and the designation and position of buildings, if any, in respect of whichthe exercise of such rights is claimed.

y Duty to record where he admits claim (S.14).If the ForestSettlement Officer admits in whole or in part any claim under Section

12, he shall also record the extent to which the claim is so admitted.y Appeal from orderspassed tinder Sections 11,12,15 or16,Any

person who has made a claim under this Act or any Forest Officer orany other person generally or especially empowered by the State-]Government in this behalf may within three months from the date of

the order passed on such claim by the Forest Settlement Officer underabove ' mentioned sections present an appeal from such order to suchofficer of the revenueDepartment of rank not lower than that of aCollector as the State Government may specify to hear appeal fromsuch orders.

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y Power of State Government to revise arrangements

made under 15 or S. 18The State Government may,

within five years from publication of any notification under

section 20, revise any arrangement de under section 15 or

section 18 and may for this purpose rescind or oodify any

order made under section 15 or section 18 and direct that

anyone f the proceedings specified in section 15 be taken in

lieu of any other of ach proceedings or that the rights

admitted under Section 12 be commuted under Section 16.

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y PROTECTED FOREST

y The State Government may, by notification in the official

Gazette declare applicable to' any forest land or waste land whichis not included in m reserved forest but which is the property of

Government over which the Government has proprietary right or

to the whole or any part of the fores: produce of which the

Government is entitled. The forest land and waste landscomprised in any such notification shall be called a "protected

forest".

y No such notification shall be made unless the nature and extent of

the right of Government and of private persons in or over theforest land or waste land comprised therein have been inquired

into and recorded at survey settlement, or in such other manner

as the State Government thinks sufficient.

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y the granting of licence to persons felling or removing trees or timberor other forest produce from such forests for the purposes of tradeand the production and return of such licence by such persons;

y the payments, if any, to be made by the persons mentioned in els. (b)and (c) for permission to cut such trees or to collect and remove suchtimber or other forest produce;

y the other payments, if any, to be made by them in respect of such

trees, timber and produce and the place where suchy payment shall be made;

y (f) the examination of forest produce passing out of such forests;

y (g) the clearing and .breaking up of land for cultivation or otherpurposes in such forests;

y (h) the protection from fire of timber lying in such forests and oftrees reserved under section 30;

y (i) the cutting of grass and pasturing of cattle in such forests;

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y (j) hunting, shooting, fishing, poisoning water and setting traps or

snares in such forests and the killing or catching of elephants in

such forests in areas in which theE

lephants Preservation Act,1879 is not in force;

y (k) the protection and management of any portion of a forest

closed under section 30; and

y(l) the exercise of rights referred to in section 29.

y Penalty for acts in contravention of notification under

Section 30 or of rules under section 32

y (1) Any person who commits any of the following offences,

namely :y fells girdles, lops, taps or burns any tree reserved under Section

30, or strips off the bark or leaves from or otherwise damages any

such tree;

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y contrary to any prohibition under section 30 quarries any stone

or burns any lime, or charcoal, or collects subject) to any

manufacturing process, or removes any forest produce;y contrary to any prohibition under section 30 breaks up or clears

for cultivation or any other purpose any land in any protected

forest;

ysets fire to such forest or kindles a fire without taking allreasonable precautions to prevent its spreading to any trees

reserved under section 30, whether standing, fallen or felled or to

any closed portion of such forest;

yleaves burning' any fire kindled by him in the vicinity of any suchtree or closed position;

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y fells any tree or drags any timber so as to damage any tree

reserved as aforesaid;

y permits cattle to damage any such tree;y infringes any rule made under section 32 shall be punishable

with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months,

or with fine, which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with

both.y (2) Whenever fire is caused wilfully or by gross negligence in a

protected forest, the State Government may notwithstanding

that any laity has been inflicted under this section, direct that in

such forest or ay portion thereof, the exercise of any right ofpasture or to forest produce shall be suspended for such period

as it thinks fit.

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