THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Amid mounting criticism from various quarters, including church leaders, against the contentious Kerala Forest (Amendment) Bill, 2024, state govt on Wednesday said it had no plans to proceed with the proposed amendment.
“Govt views seriously the public apprehensions that the powers being vested with some departments could be misused,” CM Pinarayi Vijayan said, adding govt was not interested in bringing any law that went against any justifiable interest of people in the high ranges. The CM said the amendment proposals in the Kerala Forest Act-1961 dated back to 2013, when UDF was in office. “Some of the proposed amendments were to declare trespassing in forests and stopping vehicles in forests as criminal offences,” he said.
Stating that people and domestic animals often lost their lives in wild animal attacks, Vijayan said the main obstacle in dealing with the issue was that central law and regulations governed the subject. The Wild Life (Protection) Act-1972 was passed by Parliament under Article 252 of the Constitution and the state govt alone could not amend it, he said. tnn
