Modi govt's dogged pursuit of a plan to open forests for commercial plantation began shortly after taking office, documents show. Though it faced pushback for hurting tribal rights and forests, the plan reached a fruition through the recent Forest (Conservation)Act amendment.
In 1996, the Supreme Court asked the Union government and states to identify and protect all of India’s forests. For 27 years, they did not complete the job. Now, the Centre’s new forest law has removed protection for forests not recognised on paper.
Dear Readers,
The Reporters’ Collective relies on your donations. This month (September 2024) we require Rs 7.2 lakh more to meet our costs.
More than 75% of the donations are used to pay the salaries of our colleagues. The rest are spent on backend operational costs.
Please donate to help bridge this gap and enable us to consistently produce 2-3 investigative stories a month.
Our investigations are read in multiple Indian languages as we keep our reportage free for others to publish. Your support ensures our independence. Donate to keep the lights on in our newsroom.
