Shukla Urges Center to Redefine ‘Forests’
Citing difficulties faced by the states due to the definition of forests given by the Supreme Court, Madhya Pradesh Minister of State for Forests, Rajendra Shukla, on Tuesday urged the Center to provide for a clearer definition of the term.
Shukla was addressing a conference of state forest ministers chaired by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in New Delhi.
According to the present definition given by the apex court, in an order, all areas that are marked as any type of forest under any government record have been defined as forests.
He further asked the Center to provision funds, to states, to carry forward the proposed schemes for regeneration and increase of forest cover.
Drawing the prime ministers attention to the non-receipt of Asiatic lions from Gir sanctuary, Shukla called for early action on the matter and informed the gathering that 1543 families, living in the Kuno – Palampur forest, had been relocated to accommodate the lions.
The Asiatic lions are to be housed at the Kuno – Palampur wildlife sanctuary in the state.
