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Reuters
The central government is once again making a move to amend the Indian Forest Act 1927 even as the effort made last time led to a serious pushback from civil society.
On April 8, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change called for Expression of Interest for shortlisting consultancy organisations that could prepare a draft comprehensive amendment to the 1927 Act.
Brought in India’s pre-independence period, the 94-year-old law was meant to consolidate all the then laws relating to forests, the transit of forest produce and the duty leviable on timber and other forest produce.
The ministry emphasised that the objective of this latest exercise is to prepare a “draft of the comprehensive amendment of Indian Forest Act, 1927” in consultation with state governments and Union Territories, central government ministries and other stakeholders.