 bill no  2 of  2013 the indian forest (amendment) bill, 2013 byshri pd rai, mp a bill further to amend the indian forest act, 1927be  it enacted by parliament in the sixty-fourth year of the republic of india as follows:—1  (1) this act may be called the forest (amendment) act, 2013short title and commencement(2) it shall come into force on such date as the central government may, by notificationin the official gazette, appointamendment of section 216 of 192752 in section 2 of the indian forest act, 1927, in clause (7), the word "bamboos" shallbe omitted statement  of  objects  and  reasonsbamboo is a scientifically recognized grass with over 1500 documented uses, including as building material, as medicine and even fiber, bamboo is one of the most useful plants available to mankind our country has the largest area under bamboo cultivation and if it is managed well, it can provide steady and sustainable source of livelihood for millions of tribal and rural inhabitants the use of timber can be reduced and our forests can be saved it can also help build peace and prosperity in our north-east region from where most of the bamboo yield comesthe indian forest act, 1927 wrongly classifies bamboo as a tree it leads to inaccurate classification of felled bamboo as timber whether it originated in government or private land it is hence subject to not only central but also state forest laws the planning commission has estimated that if the bamboo economy realizes its potential of rupees 26000 crore by 2015, it can provide livelihood opportunities to 50 million people the current regulatory framework has inhibited a viable bamboo economyfurthermore, several subsequent legislations and supreme court orders stand contrary to the classification of bamboo as a tree in the indian forest act, 1927 they are listed below:—1 the panchayats (extension to the scheduled areas) act,  1996 (40 of 1996) directs the state governments vide section 4(m) (ii), to ensure that the panchayats at the appropriate level and the gram sabhas are endowed specifically with the ownership of minor forest produce however, "minor forest produce" is not defined in the act2 in a clarification by the supreme court vide its orders dated 12121996 in tn godavarman thirumulkpad versus union of india, it said the orders "does not cover minor forest produce, including bamboo etc" here, bamboo is considered a minor forest produce3 while realizing that this order may have serious implications in national parks and sanctuaries, the court revised its stand and in ia no 707, order dated 18022002, it ruled that "cutting of trees does not include bamboo and cane, which really belongs to the grass family, other than those in the national parks and sanctuaries in other words, no bamboos including cane in national parks and sanctuaries can be cut but the same may be cut elsewhere" here, bamboo was correctly classified as a grass4 the scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers (recognition of forest rights) act, 2006 (2 of 2007) vide section 2 (i) defines minor forest produce to include "all non-timber forest produce of plant origin including bamboo" further, it also gave forest dwelling scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers vide section 3 (1) (c) the right of "ownership, access to collect, use and dispose of minor forest produce which have been traditionally collected within or outside village boundaries"the indian forest act, 1927 continues to be the primary legislation in many statesthese states follow the definitional pattern in this act while framing their rules and laws in view of the above, it is proposed that bamboo be made a non-timber minor produce by declassifying it as a tree in the indian forest act, 1927 the proposed amendment would also bring consistency across all legislations and benefit millions of people with proper rights over this enormously useful renewable resourcehence this billnew delhi;pd rainovember 6, 2012 annexure extract from the indian forest act, 1927 (16 of 1927)      2 in this act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,—interpretation clause(1)    (2)    (3)    (4)    (5)    (6)    (7) "tree" includes palms, bamboos, skumps, brush-wood and canes        lok  sabha———— a bill further to amend the indian forest act, 1927————(shri p d rai, mp)gmgipmrnd—4589ls(s3)—09-02-2013