The Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), Odisha Chapter, which fought for the enactment of the historic Forest Rights Act, 2006, on Friday termed the Draft National Forest Policy (NFP), 2018 proposed by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC) as anti-Adivasi, anti-forest dwellers and anti-ecology.
Rejecting the Draft NFP outright, CSD Odisha convenor Gopinath Majhi addressing a Press meet said that the draft subverts and undermines the Forest Rights Act which is considered to be a historic legislation securing “Azadi” of the tribals and forest dwellers.
Majhi said the intention of the policy is to promote privitisation of forests through PPP mode and giving forest officials more power as if forest dwellers’ rights don’t exist.
Raising concern over the serious loopholes in the draft, the CSD asserted that the draft assumes 'forest' to be a commercial entity and not an ecological entity by promoting industrial monocultural plantations. It also tends to serve the interests of corporates rather than conservation of forest eco-system and protectionof the interest of lakhs of forest dwellers, the CSD added.
Majhi also said that it is unfortunate that the draft in its preamble misses the Constitutional mandates and major changes brought under laws on forest, its protection and management, such as the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas Act (PESA) and the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest-Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act (FRA).
Citing a series of attacks on the Forest Rights Act by the NDA Government, the CSD pointed out that the Central Government's apathy is not surprising. The Modi Government has been trying to dilute the FRA and the provision for consent of the Gram Sabhas as mandatory for diversion of forest land.
It has passed executive orders and guidelines proposing privitisation of forests, he stated.
Majhi said the draft promotes deforestation and destruction of natural ecology and biodiversity. Promoting a few varieties of timber trees like sal, teak can never replace the biodiversity of the forest ecosystem and would rather destroy the sensitive balance, he added.
The CSD members also said that the organisation is sending para/section-wise critical observation note on the draft to the MoEFCC within the stipulated time period, i.e, April 14 informing why they are rejecting it.
The CSD called upon the State Government to oppose the policy and also urged the tribals and forest dwellers, like-mined bodies and individuals of the State to oppose the Draft NFP.
Among others, Pradeep Sahu, Sala Marandi, Sudarshan Chhotray, Narendra Mohanty, Hemanta Nayak, Sricharan Behera and Manohar Chauhan were present.