The Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 (formerly the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980)

Official text of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 (renamed by the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023 from the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980). This batch covers Section 2, the Act's core operative restriction.

Act No. 69 of 1980 (as renamed and amended by Act No. 15 of 2023)

• Enacted by: Parliament of India
• Came into force: 25 October 1980; as renamed, in force from 1 December 2023
• Extent: Whole of India
• Long title: An Act to provide for the conservation of forests and for matters connected therewith or ancillary or incidental thereto.

Section 2 — Restriction on the de-reservation of forests or use of forest land for non-forest purpose

Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force in a State, no State Government or other authority shall make, except with the prior approval of the Central Government, any order directing—

(i) that any reserved forest (within the meaning of the expression "reserved forest" in any law for the time being in force in that State) or any portion thereof, shall cease to be reserved;

(ii) that any forest land or any portion thereof may be used for any non-forest purpose;

(iii) that any forest land or any portion thereof may be assigned by way of lease or otherwise to any private person or to any authority, corporation, agency or any other organisation not owned, managed or controlled by Government;

(iv) that any forest land or any portion thereof may be cleared of trees which have grown naturally in that land or portion, for the purpose of using it for reafforestation.

Explanation.—For the purpose of this section, "non-forest purpose" means the breaking up or clearing of any forest land or portion thereof for—

(a) the cultivation of tea, coffee, spices, rubber, palms, oil-bearing plants, horticultural crops or medicinal plants;

(b) any purpose other than reafforestation;

but does not include any work relating or ancillary to conservation, development and management of forests and wildlife, namely, the establishment of check-posts, fire lines, wireless communications and construction of fencing, bridges and culverts, dams, waterholes, trench marks, boundary marks, pipelines or other like purposes.

Cited in: 1. Law of Forest Conservation

This page reproduces the text of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 (formerly the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980) for study purposes. The 2023 renaming Act added a preamble and narrowed the categories of land the Act applies to (see the accompanying Notes post for details) — this is not a certified or legally authoritative copy; always verify against the official Government of India publication for legal use.