The Tamil Nadu Preservation of Private Forests Act, 1949

Act No. 27 of 1949

14th December 1949

An Act to prevent the indiscriminate destruction of private forests and interference with customary and prescriptive rights therein and for certain other purposes.

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S.1 Short title, application and commencement

(1) This Act may be called the Tamil Nadu Preservation of Private Forests Act, 1949.

(2) It applies—

(i) [Omitted]
(ii) to forests situated in estates as defined in the Tamil Nadu Estates Land Act, 1908, in the State of Tamil Nadu.
(iii) to private forests situated in other areas in the State of Tamil Nadu and having a contiguous area exceeding 2 hectares which may be declared by the District Collector to be 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 Forests 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, river

S.2 Definitions

In this Act unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,—

(a) 'committee' means any committee constituted under section 2-A 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.

Explanation.—For the purposes of this clause, "communal land" means—

(i) beds and bunds of tanks and of supply, drainage, surplus or irrigation channels;
(ii) threshing-floor, cattle-stands, village-sites and other lands which are set apart for the common use of the villagers.

(b) 'owner' in relation to a forest includes a mortgagee, 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 Aliyasantana family or branch.
(d) 'fore

S.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.

S.2-B Meetings of Committees

(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 at a meeting of the committee 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.

S.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.

S.3 Preservation of private forests

(1) (a) No owner of any forest shall, without the previous sanction of the committee sell, mortgage, lease or otherwise alienate the whole or any portion of the forest.

Explanation.—Nothing in this sub-section shall be construed as preventing the owner from selling or otherwise dealing with the right to gather and remove forest produce other than trees, timber and reeds in the usual or customary manner, for a period not exceeding two years.

(b) Any alienation in contravention of clause (a) shall be null and void—

(i) if the alienation is of any forest declared by the District Collector to be a forest under clause (iii) of section 1 (2) or of any portion of such a forest and is made on or after the date on which the declaration takes effect;
(iii) if the alienation is of any other forest or of any portion of such a forest, and is made on or after the 16th August 1946.

S.7 Penalties

Whoever contravenes—

(a) the provisions of sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of section 3, or
(b) any of the terms or conditions subject to which permission is granted under sub-section (2) of section 3, or
(c) any of the terms of a notification under section 6,

shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to two years or with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees or with both.

S.8 Institution of prosecutions

No prosecution shall be instituted against any person without the sanction of the Committee.

S.9 Bar of suits

No order of the State Government or Committee under this Act and no notification issued by the State Government under section 6 shall be liable to be questioned in any Court of Law.

S.10 Power to make rules

(1) The State Government may make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for—

(a) the classes or kinds of trees which may be permitted to be cut and the girth of such trees;
(b) the terms and conditions subject to which permissions may be granted;
(bb) the deposit of such sum, if any, as may be specified in the rules as security for the due performance of the terms and conditions subject to which permission is granted under sub-section (2) of section 3, the forfeiture of the sum so deposited or any part thereof for contravention of any such term or condition and the adjudication of such forfeiture by such authority as may be specified in the rules;
(c) the procedure to be followed by the Committee before granting permissions.

S.12-A Publication of rules, commencement of rules and notifications and placing them before the Legislature

(1) (a) All rules made under this Act...

S.13 Saving and validation

(1) Any rule or order made or purporting to have been made, any notification issued or purporting to have been issued, any decision or direction given or purporting to have been given, any action or proceeding taken or purporting to have been taken, or anything done or purporting to have been done—

(a) under any provision of the Madras Preservation of Private Forests Act, 1946 (hereinafter in this section and in section 14 referred to as the said Act) and in force immediately before the 3rd December 1948, or
(b) on or after the 3rd December 1948, under any provision of the said Act on the footing that the said Act was in force at the relevant time, or
(c) under any provision of the Madras Preservation of Private Forests Ordinance, 1949 (hereinafter in this section referred to as the said Ordinance),

shall, subject to any subsequent modification or cancellation thereof purporting to have been made on or after that date under the said Act

S.14 Indemnity for acts, etc., done after expiry of Madras Act XVIII of 1946

(1) No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie in any court against any officer or servant of the State Government or any person acting under his direction or aiding or assisting him—

(a) for, or on account of, or in respect of, any sentence passed, or any act ordered or done by him in exercise of any jurisdiction or power purporting to have been conferred on him by the said Act, or
(b) for carrying out any sentence passed by any court in exercise of any such jurisdiction or power as aforesaid.

(2) No suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against the State Government for, or on account of, or in respect of, any act, matter or thing whatsoever purporting to have been done in pursuance of or under the said Act.

(3) Sub-sections (1) and (2) shall have effect although the said Act was not or might not have been in force at the relevant time.