Centre promulgates Indian Forest (Amendment) Ordinance to encourage bamboo cultivation

The Centre has promulgated Indian Forest (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 to encourage bamboo cultivation in non-forest areas. The ordinance exempts bamboo grown in non-forest areas from the definition of a tree, thereby dispensing with the requirement of felling and transit permit for its economic use.

Bamboo, though, taxonomically a grass, was legally defined as a tree under the Indian Forest Act, 1927. Before this amendment, provisions of the Indian Forest Act was a major impediment for bamboo cultivation by farmers in the non-forest land. The Cabinet on



Wednesday approved the promulgation of the Ordinance in this regard. 

Minister of Environment Dr Harsh Vardhan said with the removal of legal and regulatory hardships, it will create a viable option for the cultivation of 12.6 million hectares of cultivable wasteland.The measure will go a long way in enhancing the agricultural income of farmers and tribals, especially in North-East and Central India. He said bamboo grown in the forest areas shall continue to be governed by the provisions of Indian Forest Act