The Nagaland assembly on Thursday passed a resolution saying that the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023 would apply to Nagaland only if the constitutional guarantees provided in Article 371A of the Constitution of India are adhered to.
Article 371A grants special provisions to Nagaland, offering extra protection to the residents on several social practices and land ownership. “Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution, no Act of Parliament in respect of the religious or social practices of the Nagas, Naga customary law and procedures and administration of civil and criminal justice involving decisions according to Naga customary laws, and ownership and transfer of land and its resources shall apply to the state of Nagaland unless the Legislative Assembly of Nagaland by a resolution so decides,” the Article says.
The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023, which was enacted by Parliament and notified by the Union government on August 4, deals with land and its resources. It exempts highway and other so-called linear projects located within 100 km of an international border from seeking environmental clearances for removing forests.
On August 22, the state assembly in neighbouring Mizoram, too, passed a unanimous resolution opposing the law, to “protect the rights and interests of the people of Mizoram”.
States in the northeastern part of the country have opposed the law because it would mean such projects across the entire area of their states do not require environmental clearances.
After deliberating on the matter in the ongoing monsoon session, the Nagaland assembly resolved: “Whereas the amended Act has inserted a new Section, namely, Section 1(A)(2) which exempted from the operation of the principal Act such forest lands situated within a distance of 100km along international borders, Line of Control (LoC) or Line of Actual Control (LAC) as the case may be, proposed to be used for construction of strategic linear project of national importance and concerning national security; And whereas the above exempted area of 100 kilometres from international borders will cover most parts of Nagaland State; And whereas in Nagaland the ownership of most of the forest lands vests with tribal communities.”
Citing concerns raised by Naga tribal bodies and stakeholders and their strong objection to the application of Section 1(A)(2) on the grounds that it would infringe on traditional ownership and usage of forest lands and resources in the state, the 60-member assembly said that the term “land and its resources” mentioned in Article 371A includes forest lands, and the application of Section 1(A)(2) of the amended Act in Nagaland would jeopardise the existing rights of tribal communities on their forest lands and its resources.
Towards this, the assembly resolved that the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023 will only be applicable in the state subject to the constitutional guarantees provided in Article 371A. The House further resolved, that the Union government must assure that provisions contained in Section 1(A)(2) of the amended Act of 2023 shall not be used to the detriment of the state and its people.
The House said it would explore various options — including the state enacting its own Act to put in place a compensatory mechanism if forest land is used for non-forestry purposes and if damage is caused to the environment, in addition to the benefits of existing central government schemes.
The resolution, which was moved by the state minister of environment, forest and climate change CL John, was adopted unanimously by the House by a voice vote.
Like Article 371A in Nagaland, the Constitution has a special provision for Mizoram as well under Article 371G which allows protection of Mizo religious and social practices, customary laws, civil and criminal justice and land ownership.
