The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980

The Forest (Conservation) Act was passed on October 25, 1980. It contains five sections which set forth regulations concerning forest conservation and matters related to it. It aims to restrict the conversion of any reserved forest into unreserved land and check the indiscriminate use of forest land for non-forest purposes. As per the website of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, government of India, the Act aims to maintain a sustainable balance between the “developmental needs of the country and the conservation of natural heritage.”