Draft National Forest Policy yet to be finalised: Govt

New Delhi, Jun 25: The Environment Ministry today said the report of a study done by Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal, was "inadvertently" uploaded on its website as the draft National Forest Policy and that the policy document was yet to finalised.

"The Ministry has not issued any draft notification on National Forest Policy. What has been uploaded on the website was a study done by Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal," Director General of Forest Sharad Negi said in a statement. "The study report prepared by IIFM-Bhopal was inadvertently uploaded as draft forest policy on the website," he said, adding that it has not been evaluated by the Ministry.

Negi said the Ministry has not taken any decision on the draft forest policy. It has an elaborate procedure for preparing draft policy document, which takes into account multiple inputs from all stakeholders, state governments, think tanks and public consultation, he said.

"No process has been carried out on the document prepared by IIFM-Bhopal, which is only one of the inputs. A draft forest policy will be put up in public domain once due process is carried out and views of all stakeholders taken into account," the official said.

The media reported the study report as the draft National Forest Policy, 2016, which, once ratified, will replace the 1988 policy.

IIFM-Bhopal, in its study report, has proposed a host of measures including taking up habitat enrichment, provision of adequate compensation for people affected by wildlife and establishment of rescue centres to treat animals to manage the problem of human-animal conflict.

PTI