Former Chief Justice
of India, Justice B.N. Kirpal has been appointed as the Chairman
of the first ever National Forest Commission. The seven member
Commission will review and assess the existing policy and legal
framework and their impact from the ecological, scientific,
economic, social and cultural view points. It will also examine
the current status of forest administration and the forestry
institutions both at the national and state level to meet emerging
needs of the civil society. It will recommend specific policy
option for achieving sustainable forest and wide life management
and development, bio-diversity conservation and ecological security.
The Commission will suggest ways and means to make forest administration
more effective with a view to achieve the policy goals. The
Commission will also recommend on establishing meaningful partnership
between forestry management and local communities including
tribals.
The other members
of the Commission are Shri M.K. Sharma, Director-General of
Forests in the Ministry of Environment & Forests, noted
environmental activists Shri Chandi Prasad Bhatt and Shri M.K.
Ranjitsinh, Prof. J.S. Singh of the Banaras Hindu University,
Shri A.P. Muthuswamy, former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Tamil
Nadu and Additional Director-General of Forests in the Ministry
who will be ex-officio Member Secretary of the Commission.
The Commission
has been given two years time for submission of its report.
