Tamil Nadu Preservation of Private Forests Act, 1949
No: 27 Dated: Dec, 14 1949
THE TAMIL NADU PRESEVATION OF PRIVATE FOREST ACT, 1949
ACT XXVII OF 1949
An Act to prevent the indiscriminate destruction of private forests and interference with customary and prescriptive rights therein and for certain other purposes.
WHEREAS it is necessary, to prevent the indiscriminate destruction of private forests and interference with customary and prescriptive rights therein:
It is hereby enacted as follows:-
1. Short title, extent and commencement:- (1) This Act may be called the Tamil Nadu Preservation of Private Forests Act, 1949.
(2) It applies-
(i) to forests situated in estates as defined in the Tamil Nadu Estates Land Act, 1908, in the State of Tamil Nadu ;
(ii) to private forests situated in other areas in the State of Tamil Nadu and having a contiguous area exceeding forests for the purposes of this Act, by notification, in the District Gazette, but does not apply to reserved forests constituted under the Tamil Nadu Forest Act, 1882, and lands at the disposal of the Government as defined in that Act.
Explanation - A private forest exceeding 2 hectares in extent shall not cease to be such by reason only of the fact that, in a portion thereof trees, shrubs or reeds are felled or cut with or without the permission of the Committee or lands are cultivated, or rocks, roads, tanks, rivers or the like exist nor shall the area of such forest cease to be contiguous by reason only of the existence of all or any of the aforesaid circumstance.
(3) It shall come into force at once
2. Definitions. - In this Act unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context-
(a) 'Committee' means any Committee constituted under Section 2A and having jurisdiction
(aa) 'Forest' includes waste or communal land containing trees, shrubs and reeds; pasture land and any other class of land declared by the State Government, to be a forest by notification in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette;
Explanation - For the purpose of the clause, 'communal land' means any land of the description mentioned in sub clause (a) or sub-clause (b) of clause (16) of section 3 of the Tamil Nadu Estates Land Act, 1908;
(b) 'owner' in relation to a forest includes a mortgage lessee or other person having right to possession and enjoyment of the forest;
(c) ‘person' includes a Hindu undivided family, a Marumakkattayam tarwad or tavazhi and an Aliyasanthana family or branch;
(d) 'forest offence' means an offence punishable under the Act;
(e) the expressions 'Forest Officer', 'tree', 'timber' 'Forest produce', 'cattle', 'Magistrate' and 'imprisonment'' shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in section 2 of the Tamil Nadu Forest Act, 1882.
2-A. Constitution of Committees - (1) The State Government may, by notification with effect from such date as may be specified therein, constitute for each district a Committee for the purpose of this Act, consisting of the following members, namely;-
(a) the District Collector as Chairman of the Committee;
(b) the District Forest Officer having jurisdiction over the district;
(c) the Tahsildar having jurisdiction over the area;
(d) the Executive Engineer of the Agriculture Department in charge of soil conservation;
(e) the Personal Assistant (General) to the Collector of the district, who shall be the Secretary of the Committee.
2-B. Meetings of Committee :- (1) The Committee may meet as often as may be necessary and shall, subject to the provisions of sub-sections (2) and (3), observe such rules of procedure in regard to transaction of business at its meetings (including the quorum at meetings) as may be prescribed by the State Government under this Act, provided that not more than two months shall elapse between one meeting of the Committee and another.
(2) The Chairman of the Committee or in his absence any member nominated by him in that behalf shall preside at a meeting of the Committee.
(3) All questions t a meeting of the Committee shall be decided by a majority of the votes of the members shall be decided by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting and in the case of an equality of votes, the Chairman of the Committee or in his absence the person presiding, shall have a second or casting vote.
2-C Vacancy in Committee, etc., not to invalidate acts or proceedings - No act or proceeding of the Committee shall be deemed to be invalid by reason only of the existence of any vacancy in the Committee or any defect in the nomination of a member thereto or on the ground only that more than two months have elapsed between one meeting of the committee and another.