Central

Section 4 of Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 with Amendments Made in 1988

(1)The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, makes 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.

Summary

This section gives the Central Government the authority to create rules to carry out the provisions of the Forest (Conservation) Act.
Any rules created under this provision must be published as a notification in the Official Gazette.
Parliament has the power to review, modify, or reject these rules within a set thirty day period.
The thirty day review period can be completed in a single session or spread across multiple successive sessions of Parliament.
If both Houses of Parliament decide to change or cancel a rule, that decision will not undo any actions already taken under that rule before the change.

Practical examples

1In January 1989, a local officer named Ramesh applied to clear some forest land for a road. The Central Government published a new rule in the Official Gazette on March 5, 1989, specifying the format for such applications. Ramesh had to fill out the new form because the Central Government has the legal power to make these procedural rules under the national forest law.

2In September 1991, the Central Government introduced a rule about inspection fees. They presented the rule to Parliament. Parliament was in session, and the rule was kept before both houses for fifteen days in September and fifteen days in October, making it thirty days in total. The rule became fully active after this review period.

3On November 10, 1992, the Central Government published a rule requiring environmental audits. After twenty days of the rule being in force, both Houses of Parliament agreed to modify the rule to exclude small farms. A farmer named Sunil, who had already filed his audit on November 20 under the original rule, did not have his completed audit invalidated, because changes by Parliament do not affect actions already completed.

FAQ

1. Who has the authority to make rules under Section 4 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980?

Under Section 4 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, only the Central Government has the authority to make rules, which they must publish in the Official Gazette.

2. How long must a rule be presented before Parliament under Section 4 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980?

Under Section 4 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, every rule must be laid before both Houses of Parliament for a total period of thirty days.

3. Can the thirty day Parliamentary review period for rules under Section 4 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 span multiple sessions?

Yes. Under Section 4 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, the thirty day period may be completed in one session, or it can be spread across two or more successive sessions of Parliament.

4. What happens if Parliament modifies a rule under Section 4 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 after it is already in force?

Under Section 4 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, if both Houses of Parliament modify or reject a rule, the rule will only work in the modified form or stop working entirely. However, this change does not affect the validity of anything that was already done under that rule before the modification or cancellation.

Test yourself

Q1.Under Section 4 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, if the Central Government wishes to bring a new administrative rule into force, through which official medium must it publish this rule?

Q2.Under Section 4 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, how is the mandatory thirty day period for laying a rule before Parliament structured?

Q3.Under Section 4 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, what is the legal status of an action taken under a rule if Parliament subsequently decides to annul that rule?

Q4.Under Section 4 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, what is required for a rule to be successfully modified or rejected during the Parliamentary review period?

3BPreviousSection 3B Whoever contravenes or abets the contravention of any of the provisions of Section 2, shall be punishable with simple imprisonment for a period which may extend to fifteen days.5NextSection 5 Repeal and saving.

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