This bill approved by Meghalaya cabinet recently has come under scanner for its definition of 'forest'. It defines "forest" as a continuous tract of minimum four hectares of land having more than 250 naturally growing trees and has come under scanner.

The Cabinet approved the proposed Meghalaya Forest Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2012 to have clarity on the definition of the areas which would be considered as Forest.

Himachal Pradesh is blessed with extraordinary vegetation and floral assemblages, which can be attributed to the wide altitudinal range coupled with local variations in edaphic and climatic factors. Eight species belonging to 5 genera of bamboo are distributed in the state, occupying an area of 60 sq km. This paper presents a brief account of these bamboos together with a key to their identification in the field.

Trouble is again being caused by the inherent contradictions between the two laws – the Indian Forest Act and the Forest Rights Act (FRA) – that govern India’s forests, their produce and the people