The rules have eliminated the earlier mandatory requirements of obtaining the prior consent of the gram Sabha before utilising forest land for non-forestry purposes, the letter pointed out.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Friday said he has expressed his reservations about the Centre’s Forest Conservation Rules 2022 to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as they “brazenly dilute” powers of local gram sabha and “uproot” the rights of forest-dwelling communities.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, the chief minister urged Modi to bring about changes in the Forest Conservation Rules 2022 that will establish systems and procedures that protect the rights of the tribal and forest communities in the country.
“They (the rules) brazenly dilute power of local gramsabha & uprooting the rights of millions, members of forest dwelling communities, particularly the Adivasis,” he said in the letter dated December 1.