POPULATION AND ENVIRONMENT: LOCAL AND REGIONAL PLANNING CHALLENGES Forest Legislation, Tribal population and Planning in Eastern Tribal Belts of Gujarat (original) (raw)

India under British rule enacted Indian Forest Act, 1927 after initial forest legislation laid in 1878, which allowed Indian State to expand the commercial exploitation of Forest while putting curb on local use for subsistence. When India attained independence in 1947, it retained the Indian Forest Act, 1927 without introducing any alternations to it. Subsequently however, the Indian Forest Policy, Forest Conservation Act and Forest Rights Acts were formulated by Indian Government in 1952, 1980 and 2006. This changed the fundamental principle from denying customary rights of forest dwellers to allowing forest rights to cultivate and utilize forest produce for their own usage. Gujarat has enacted subsequent state laws in order to govern eastern tribal belt of the state. This paper presents an analytical account of the processes, changes and impact of such laws in the tribal belt of the Gujarat State, with the view to account the changing tribal population and regional planning of Eas...