The Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD) has said that the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016 and the draft Compensatory Afforestation Fund Rules, 2018 are in direct violation of FRA, 2006, PESA, 1996 and the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities (amendment) Act, 2015 and hence be repealed.
Challenging the dominating role of Forest Department in National Authority and State Authority proposed in draft CAF Rules, 2018, the CSD asserted that as per the FRA, 2006,(Section 3, 5 and 6 of the FRA), the gram sabha is the statutory authority of the forest and it has the legal right to prepare their annual, short term and long term forest protection and management plan.
Calling the draft CFA Rules, 2018 as conspiracy of Forest bureaucracy, the CSD alleged that the MoEF after losing grounds after FRA, 2006 has been trying to
sabotage gram sabha authority over forest by reintroducing JFM Resolution in the CFA Rules.
It also discarded the proposed definition of “gram sabha” in the draft CFA Rules and instead proposed that the definition of FRA Gram Sabha be used in the CFA Rules.
It also suggested to have “Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC)”of the concern gram sabha while diverting forest land for non-forest purposes under FCA, 1980s or doing plantation in the CFR area.