Pay and chop

Lok Sabha passes forest fund bill

THE Lok Sabha on December 23 passed the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill without any amendment.
The bill has been severely criticized by conservationists who say it institutionalizes diversion of forests to other land uses through a system of monetary compensation and does not protect forests. The Parliamentary committee on environment, to which the bill was referred October last, also said the bill should be scrapped in its present form.
The bill was passed amid pandemonium as members tried to raise objections.