Key Points
Centre amends forest rules to treat approved private plantations and regeneration as forestry activity, exempting them from NPV and compensatory afforestation.
States get discretion to approve projects via detailed plans and decide utilisation and revenue sharing.
Former forest officials, environmentalists, tribal rights groups, and opposition leaders warn of risks to biodiversity and forest rights, while Centre says move will aid restoration of degraded forests.
The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has amended forest conservation guidelines, relaxing guidelines for commercial plantations on forest land. The change allows government and non-government entities to undertake regeneration activities in forest areas without paying long-standing environmental levies or engaging in compensatory afforestation.
The amendment, notified by the MoEFCC on 2 January 2026, modifies the consolidated guidelines issued under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 2023, formerly the Forest Conservation Act. Under the revised rules, afforestation, plantations and assisted natural regeneration carried out with the agreement of state governments, in accordance with approved working or management plans and under the supervision of state forest departments, will be treated as “forestry activities”.
As a result, “the requirements of compensatory afforestation and payment of Net Present Value shall not be applicable,” the amendment states. Net Present Value (NPV) is a one-time charge imposed on the diversion of forest land for non-forest use, calculated to reflect the value of ecosystem services such as clean air, water and biodiversity. Compensatory afforestation requires user agencies to create new forest cover to offset loss elsewhere.
States have also been given discretion to design frameworks for utilisation of such plantations and to decide revenue-sharing arrangements on a case-by-case basis.
A further provision requires states and Union Territories to permit such projects through a Detailed Project Report, approved by a competent authority, specifying the extent of land, species proposed, plantation activities and sustainable harvest levels.
The government has said the change is aimed at facilitating restoration of degraded forest lands and mobilising additional resources. Environment Ministry officials have clarified that the amendment does not “open up” forest management to private entities for non-forestry purposes, but allows their participation in restoration to help achieve India’s target of 33% forest cover. According to the India State of Forest Report 2023, over 2.08 lakh km2 of forest land falls under open and scrub categories.
Officials also said the revised framework aligns with the Green Credit Programme, introduced in 2023, which encourages voluntary restoration of degraded land by public and private players in exchange for tradeable credits. The Forest Advisory Committee, which recommended the change in a meeting on 2 December 2025, noted that plantations raised in line with working plans and aimed at restoration should not be treated as non-forestry activities.
Speaking to Down to Earth, Prakriti Srivastava, former principal chief conservator of forests in Kerala, said, “With these requirements now eased, private entities stand to benefit by using forest land for plantations and earning profits without corresponding obligations for environmental protection.” She sdded that accountability would depend heavily on how states design oversight mechanisms.
Tribal rights groups have also flagged potential impacts on forest-dependent communities. Y. Giri Rao of the Odisha-based organisation Vasundhara told Down to Earth that while the policy could create livelihood opportunities through revenue sharing, risks include shrinking village commons, restricted access to minor forest produce and exclusion of Gram Sabhas if projects proceed without recognition of rights under the Forest Rights Act, 2006.
Opposition leaders have criticised the move as a step towards privatisation of forest management. “In August 2023, the Modi Government had bulldozed amendments to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 through Parliament … It had been pointed out at that time itself that the amendments opened the door for the privatisation of forest management. This is exactly what has happened,” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in a social media post.
Others have also argued that commercial incentives could encourage monoculture plantations of fast-growing and invasive species such as eucalyptus or teak, which lack the structural complexity of natural forests and provide limited habitat for wildlife.
The policy shift has revived an older debate over leasing degraded forest land to private industry to meet demand for timber and paper. Imports of paper and paperboard have nearly doubled in five years, a factor cited by industry and the ministry’s advisory committee for the amendment.
[DS]
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