In another radical step, the Haryana government has legally established what a forest should be in the state. This step taken in August the year 2025, is in response to a Supreme Court order but has instantly raised eyebrows over its perceived limited nature especially to the Aravalli ecologically deteriorating region.
Responding to a Supreme Court Order
The move by the state comes after a recent Supreme Court ruling indicated that all the states and Union Territories should come up with a proper definition of forests. The court required that expert committees and GIS would be used in order to identify all forest lands including unclassified and community forests and has also made the responsibility of the person in charge to comply with the orders.
Haryanas Objective Criteria
The Environment, Forest and Wildlife Department in Haryana determined a forest on the basis of two characteristics
- Size: At least five hectares, or two hectares, in the case of contiguous forests, which have already been notified.
- Canopy Density: An adequate amount of trees cover of at least 40 percent. The definition does not include linear plantations, orchards and agro-forestry lands notified forests.
The source of the Dispute
The definition has been criticized heavily by environmental experts as they state that it is misguiding. They claim that the 40 percent canopy cover criterion is not realistic in dry, arid environments such as the Aravallis as native vegetation here habitually grows sparsely due to tree scarce precipitation and bad soil. The area requirements are also viewed as quite high by this type of ecosystem. Critics fear that this limited definition will take away protections over large ecologically sensitive regions leaving them open to real estate development and mining.
Legal Situation and Influence
This discussion is against the background of Forest Conservation Act (FCA). In another landmark 1996 Supreme Court decision (the Godavarman case) the courts had defined forests to include any and all reported forest-like ecosystems. This was however reduced by a 2023 amendment in the FCA limiting this scope to those forest and areas that are notified by the government and those areas that are present in government records. The Supreme Court is hearing challenges to this amendment. It will have a direct implication on the surveying and protection of the forest land by the FCA in Haryana due to its new definition.
The Future?
Haryana state and district committees can now start their surveys of forests with this definition being now official. The fate of the country as a whole, however, depends on the case now being scheduled in September 2025 by the Supreme Court which will reconsider reports of all the states. The eventual judgement of the court will fundamentally change the way forest conservation is done all over India
Month: Current Affairs - August 23, 2025
Category: current affairs daily