Indian Forest Act 1927

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Communities that depend on forests were impacted by this Act. This Act's processes and penalties were designed to weaken people's rights to use woods while also increasing the state's authority over them.
• The village communities lost their long-standing symbiotic relationship with the woodlands. Additional changes were also made to limit the local usage of forests, mostly by populations who depend on them.
• It was passed in order to strengthen and optimize the previous forest legislation.

Objective

• To compile all prior forest-related legislation.
• To grant the government the authority to classify woods according to their usefulness for colonial purposes.
• To control the transit and movement of forest products as well as the duties imposed on timber and other forest products.
• To specify the process to be used for designating a territory as Village, Protected, or Reserved Forest.
• To list the acts that are forbidden within the Reserved Forest as forest offenses, together with the associated fines.
• To increase accountability for the preservation of wildlife and forests.

Features

1. This act provides notification of forests in India.
2. The Act further divides forests into three categories:
1. Reserved Forest: No activity is allowed unless authorized.
2. Protected Forest: Unless otherwise noted, all activities are allowed.
3. Village Forest: There are hardly any restrictions.
3. The statute penalizes encroachment, trading in timers, and other offenses.
4. To maintain the forests, the act calls for the establishment of a state forest service.