THE FOREST (CONSERVATION) ACT, 1980 
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ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS 

Last updated: 27-8-2021 
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SECTIONS 

1.  Short title, extent and commencement. 
2.  Restriction on the dereservation of forests or use of forest land for non-forest purpose. 
2A. Appeal to National Green Tribunal. 
3.  Constitution of Advisory Committee. 
3A. Penalty for contravention of the provisions of the Act. 
3B. Offences by authorities and Government departments. 
4.  Power to make rules. 
5.  Repeal and saving. 

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THE FOREST (CONSERVATION) ACT, 1980 

ACT NO. 69 OF 1980 

[27th December, 1980.] 
An Act to provide for the conservation of forests and for matters connected therewith or ancillary 

or incidental thereto. 
BE it enacted by Parliament in the Thirty-first Year of the Republic of India as follows:— 
1. Short title, extent and commencement.—(1) This Act may be called the Forest (Conservation) 

Act, 1980. 

(2) It extends to the whole of India 1***. 
(3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 25th day of October, 1980. 
2.  Restriction  on  the  dereservation  of  forests  or  use  of  forest  land  for  non-forest  purpose.—
Notwithstanding  anything  contained  in  any  other  law  for  the  time  being  in  force  in  a  State,  no  State 
Government or other authority shall make, except with the prior approval of the Central Government, any 
order directing— 

(i) that any reserved forest (within the meaning of the expression “reserved forest” in any law for 

the time being in force in that State) or any portion thereof, shall cease to be reserved; 

(ii) that any forest land or any portion thereof may be used for any non-forest purpose. 
2[(iii) that any forest land or any portion thereof may be assigned by way of lease or otherwise to 
any  private  person  or  to  any  authority,  corporation,  agency  or  any  other  organization  not  owned, 
managed or controlled by Government; 

(iv)  that  any  forest  land  or  any  portion  thereof  may  be  cleared  of  trees  which  have  grown 

naturally in that land or portion, for the purpose of using it for reafforestation.] 
3[Explanation.—For  the  purposes  of  this  section  “non-forest  purpose”  means  the  breaking  up  or 

clearing of any forest land or portion thereof for— 

(a) the cultivation of tea, coffee, spices, rubber, palms, oil-bearing plants, horticultural crops or 

medicinal plants; 

(b) any purpose other than reafforestation, 

but  does  not  include  any  work  relating  or  ancillary  to  conservation,  development  and  management  of 
forests and wild life, namely, the establishment of check-posts, fire lines, wireless communications and 
construction of fencing, bridges and culverts, dams waterholes, trench marks, boundary marks, pipelines 
or other like purposes.] 

4[2A. Appeal to National Green Tribunal.—Any person aggrieved, by an order or decision of the 
State Government or other authority made under section 2, on or after the commencement of the National 
Green Tribunal Act, 2010, may file an appeal to the National Green Tribunal established under section 3 
of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010, in accordance with the provisions of that Act.] 

3.  Constitution  of  Advisory  Committee.—The  Central  Government  may  constitute  a  Committee 

consisting of such number of persons as it may deem fit to advise that Government with regard to— 

(i) the grant of approval under section 2; and 

(ii) any other matter connected with the conservation of forests which may be referred to it by the 

Central Government. 

5[3A. Penalty for contravention of the provisions of the Act.—Whoever contravenes or abets the 
contravention or any of the provisions of section 2, shall be punishable with simple imprisonment for a 
period which may extend to fifteen days. 

1.  The  words  “except  the  State  of  Jammu  and  Kashmir”  omitted  by  Act  34  of  2019,  s.  95  and  the  Fifth  Schedule  

(w.e.f. 31-10- 2019). 

2. Ins. by Act 69 of 1988, s. 2 (w.e.f. 15-3-1989). 
3. Subs. by s. 2, ibid., for the Explanation (w.e.f. 15-3-1989). 
4. Ins. by Act 19 of 2010, s. 36 and Schedule III (w.e.f. 18-10-2010). 
5. Ins. by Act 69 of 1988, s. 3. (w.e.f. 15-3-1989). 

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3B. Offences by authorities and Government departments.—(1) Where any offence under this Act 

has been committed— 

(a) by any department of Government, the head of the department; or 

(b) by any authority, every person who, at the time the offence was committed, was directly in 
charge of, and was responsible to, the authority for the conduct of the business of the authority as well 
as the authority, 

shall  be  deemed  to  be  guilty  of  the  offence  and  shall  be  liable  to  be  proceeded  against  and  punished 
accordingly: 

Provided  that  nothing  contained  in  this  sub-section  shall  render  the  head  of  the  department  or  any 
person  referred  to  in  clause  (b),  liable to any  punishment  if the  proves that  the  offence  was  committed 
without his knowledge or that exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence. 

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where an offence punishable under the Act 
has  been  committed  by  a  department  of  government  or  any  authority  referred  to  in  clause  (b)  of  
sub-section (1) and it is proved that the offence has been committed with the  consent or connivance of, or 
is attributable to any neglect on the part, of, any officer, other than the head of the department, or in the 
case of an authority, any person other than the persons referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (1), such 
officer  or persons  shall also  be  deemed  to be  guilty of that  offence  and shall  be  liable  to  be  proceeded 
against and punished accordingly.] 

4. Power to make rules.—(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, 

make rules for carrying out the provisions of this Act. 

(2) Every rule made under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House 
of  Parliament,  while  it  is  in  session,  for  a  total  period  of  thirty  days  which  may  be  comprised  in  one 
session  or  in  two  or  more  successive  sessions,  and  if,  before  the  expiry  of  the  session  immediately 
following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification 
in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only 
in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or 
annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule. 

5.  Repeal  and  saving.—(1)  The  Forest  (Conservation)  Ordinance,  1980  (17  of  1980)  is  hereby 

repealed. 

(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken under the provisions of the said 

Ordinance shall be deemed to have been done or taken under the corresponding provisions of this Act. 

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