SC says linear projects shouldn’t reduce forests.

• The Supreme Court has stated that the Union government and States cannot reduce forest land unless compensatory land is provided for afforestation.

• The court is hearing petitions challenging amendments made in 2023 to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.

• The amendments were argued to have diluted the definition of forest to two categories: declared forests and lands recorded as forests in government records after 1980.

• The court has directed the government to revert to the “dictionary meaning” of ‘forest’ as upheld in a 1996 Supreme Court decision in the TN Godavarman Thirumulpad case.

• The “all-encompassing” dictionary meaning will continue until the States and Union territories prepare a “consolidated record” of all lands recorded as “forest” in government records.