Opposition to Kerala Forest (Amendment) Bill 2024 grows

The farmers of Idukki and the Catholic Church are up in arms against the draft Kerala Forest (Amendment) Bill 2024 which is likely to be tabled in the State Assembly in the coming session.

Opposition to the draft Bill stems from two of its contentious provisions. One pertains to the grant of power to any forest officer not below the rank of a beat forest officer, or any police officer, “to arrest and detain any person reasonably suspected of having been indulged in any forest offence unless he [the officer] is satisfied that such person will appear and answer any charge which may be preferred against him” without a magistrate’s order or a warrant.

The Bill also proposes to add a provision allowing any forest officer not below the rank of a section forest officer to arrest and detain individuals who obstruct forest officials in the execution of their duties or those who have escaped lawful custody.

Other key recommendations include penalising actions such as littering or dumping plastic waste, using explosives, entering forests with guns, or poisoning waterbodies within forests. The Bill also allows forest officers to search vehicles, premises, and belongings of individuals suspected of forest offences and seize forest produce, weapons, or equipment used in illegal activities.

It proposes higher fines for various forest-related crimes, a move that has drawn criticism from farmer groups and activists.

The Kerala Independent Farmers Association (KIFA) dubbed the draft Bill as anti-farmer. KIFA chairman Alex Ozhukayil said the proposed amendment would give unrestrained power to a wider set of forest personnel.

Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC) deputy secretary-general Father Jacob G. Palakkappilly said the Bill would harm the interests of farmers.

The Idukki Diocese of the Syro-Malabar Church suggested amending the Bill to ensure wild animals remained confined to forests and that forest officials are held accountable for animal incursions into human settlements. 

Rasak Chooravelil, general convener of the Idukki Land Freedom Movement (ILFM), alleged that the Bill would lead to a ‘Forest Raj’ in Kerala. 

But when the representatives of the Syro-Malabar, Syro-Malankara, and Syro-Latin Churches met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday to apprise him of their apprehensions, he sought to allay their fears.

The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), Kerala, the farmers’ wing of the Communist Party of India (CPI), State vice-president Mathew Varghese, too, viewed the Bill as anti-people and said no democratic government should endorse such recommendations.

Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran, however, sought to downplay the concerns as baseless. He told The Hindu that the Bill was anything but anti-farmer or anti-people.

“This is a draft Bill, and anyone opposing it is free to submit recommendations,” he said.

While penalties for forest-related crimes would be higher, the amendments are aimed at preventing illegal activities like encroachment and tree-felling within forests and would not affect genuine farmers or residents, he argued.

On Monday, the Congress urged the government to withdraw the draft notification. KPCC president K. Sudhakaran, MP, said the United Democratic Front (UDF) would mobilise tribespeople and settler farmers to oppose the Bill.

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Published - December 16, 2024 08:57 pm IST