'Form expert panels to identify forests'

We direct all states, UTs where expert committee is not constituted, to complete the exercise within one month SUPREME COURT

- Abraham Thomas

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday set a six-month deadline for states and Union territories to complete the exercise of identifying forests by appointing expert committees and carrying out the scientific demarcation of land. It also warned that chief secretaries and administrators would be held personally liable if they failed to stick to the timeline.

Dealing with a set of petitions challenging the amendments to the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 (FCA), a bench headed by Justice Bhushan R Gavai noted that identification is key to protecting the forest cover in the country. It cited Rule 16(1) of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, Rules 2023, which require all states and UTs to prepare a consolidated record of such lands, including forest-like areas constituted for this purpose, and will extend to unclassed or community forests.