After declaring several times that it would pass the compensatory afforestation fund bill in this session, the Central government backed off on Wednesday in the Rajya Sabha and pushed it to the monsoon session.

After Congress MP Jairam Ramesh gave notice for moving an amendment to protect forest rights, and after it became clear that the Left and other parties were also taking similar stands, the government chose to back off rather than accept protection for people’s rights.

This development comes a week after a CPM MP revealed documents in a national convention showing how the Modi government continues to try to sabotage forest rights, and to give bureaucrats illegal powers to override gram sabhas.. The next few months will tell if the Centre is going to continue on that path, or if it is going to accept amendments that would at least be a first step towards protecting people’s rights.

Want to know more background, and have the details of the amendments? Read our statement from yesterday.

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