Forest Conservation Act, 1980
Forest conservation means judicious use of forests and an increase in the forest area. In historical times, there was a substantial area of forest in India. But due to day by day increasing pressure on land and the development of infrastructures a large number of forests were destroyed. For this purpose, the Indian government laid down the forest act. This Act is as called the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. It came into force on the 25th of October 1980.
Section 2 of the Forest Act:
Section 2 of the Forest Act prohibits the de-reservation of forests or use of forest land for non-forest purposes without the prior approval of the Central Government.
After the inclusion of any land under section 2 of the Forest Act, whether a special order is issued under section 4 or not, it will be treated as forest land.
Section 4: of the Punjab Land Conservation Act (PLPA):
A special order under Section 4 of the PLPA refers to a restrictive provision issued by the State Government to prevent deforestation (which may lead to soil erosion) in a specified area.
When the State Government is satisfied that the deforestation of the forest area forming part of a larger area is likely to cause soil erosion, the power under section 4 may be exercised.
Therefore, the specific land in respect of which a special order has been issued under section 4 of the PLPA shall include all the rules of the forest governed by the Forest Act.
While the land notified under the special orders of section 4 of the PLPA would be forest land, not all land under the PLPA would actually be treated as forest land within the framework of the Forest Act.
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