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The Forest (Conservation) Act was passed in India in the year:
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Answer: Option A — 1980
Detailed Solution
The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 was passed by Parliament to check the rapid loss of forests in India. It came into force on 25 October 1980. The main aim of the Act is to stop the use of forest land for non-forest purposes without the approval of the Central Government.
Under the Act, a state government or any other authority cannot, without the prior approval of the Centre:
De-reserve a reserved forest.
Use any forest land for non-forest purposes, such as mining, industry, roads, dams or agriculture.
Lease forest land to any private person or company.
Clear naturally grown trees in order to replant the area.
An Advisory Committee advises the Centre on such proposals. When forest land is diverted for a project, the project agency usually has to pay for compensatory afforestation, that is, raising new forests elsewhere. The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016 created CAMPA funds to manage this money.
The Act was amended in 1988. In 2023, it was amended again and renamed the "Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam", which means the Forest (Conservation and Augmentation) Act. The 2023 amendment changed the scope of the Act and exempted some categories of land, such as land within 100 kilometres of international borders for strategic linear projects. Some of these changes have been criticised by environmental groups and were challenged in the Supreme Court.
Under the 42nd Amendment (1976), "forests" was moved from the State List to the Concurrent List, which allowed Parliament to pass this law. The Indian Forest Act, 1927 is the older law dealing with forest classification.
Why not the other options?
- ✗1972 is the year of the Wildlife (Protection) Act.
- ✗1986 is the year of the Environment (Protection) Act.
- ✗2006 is the year of the Forest Rights Act (Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers Act).
Quick tip
Remember: Forest (Conservation) Act = 1980 (amended 2023 as Van Adhiniyam); Wildlife Protection Act = 1972; Environment Protection Act = 1986; Forest Rights Act = 2006.
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This question tests your understanding of Climate, Soils & Vegetation of India, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the climate of India and the monsoon, the seasons and the distribution of rainfall, the major soil types (alluvial, black, red, laterite, arid and mountain soils), and India's natural vegetation, including the types of forests and the states where they are found. Common questions ask which soil is best for cotton (black or regur soil), where laterite soil forms, which place receives the highest rainfall (Mawsynram in Meghalaya), and what 'mango showers' and the 'retreating monsoon' are. Questions on forest types usually link a forest type to its rainfall and to trees such as teak, sal and sundari. Practise the climate, soils and vegetation of India questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.