Overview

• More than 150 civil society and forest rights groups wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing the ministry of systematically subverting the Forest Rights Act and misrepresenting its legal framework.
• Congress leader Jairam Ramesh amplified the allegations on X, raising concerns over reported ministerial comments linking the FRA to forest degradation.
• The ministry clarified that Bhupender Yadav’s remarks referred to a net increase in forest cover noted in the latest India State of Forest Report and were taken out of context.
• It defended the Van Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan Act amendments as having followed due parliamentary process and cited Rule 11(7), which mandates settlement of FRA rights prior to forest land diversion.
• The ministry described voluntary relocation of villages from core tiger reserve areas as a key community-driven conservation strategy governed by both the FRA and the Wildlife Protection Act.