Jammu and Kashmir Forest Act, 1987 (1930 A.D.)
No: 22 Dated: Sep, 15 1987
THE JAMMU AND KASHMIR FOREST ACT, 1987 (1930 A.D.)
(Act No. II of Samvat 1987)
An Act to amend and consolidate the law relating to forests and the transit of forest produce.
Preamble. - Whereas it is expedient to amend and consolidate the law relating to forests and the transit of forest produce;
It is hereby enacted as follows
CHAPTER I
Preliminary
1. Short title. - (i) This Act may be called the Jammu and Kashmir Forest Act, 1987.
Commencement. - (ii) It shall be deemed to have come into force with effect from 12th August, 1986.
Extent. - (iii) It shall extend to the whole of the State.
Repeal of enactment. - (iv) On and from the date on which this Act comes into force, the Regulation, Orders of His Highness the Maharaja Bahadur conveyed in Chief Minister's communications and the State Council Resolutions mentioned in the Schedule hereto annexed shall be repealed, but, all notifications published, declarations and rules made, places appointed, acts done or validated, agreements filed, scales prescribed, forms framed, appointments made, and powers conferred under the said Regulation or any of the said Orders of His Highness the Maharaja Bahadur or the said State Council Resolutions and in force at the date of such repeal shall, so far as they are consistent with this Act, be deemed to have been respectively published, made, appointed, done or validated, filed, prescribed, framed and conferred under this Act and by the authority empowered thereby in such behalf.
2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-
(a) "cattle" include elephants, camels, buffaloes, horses, marts, geldings, ponies, colts, fillies, mules, asses, pigs, rams, ewes, sheep, lambs, goats and kids;
(b) "composition" means the cost of forest produce together with the compensation imposed under the provisions of this Act;
(c) "demarcated forest" means forest land or waste land under the control of the Forest Department, of which the boundaries have already been demarcated by means of pillars of stone or masonry or by any other conspicuous mark, or, which hereafter be constituted a demarcated forest under section 3 ;
(d) "forest based industry" means an industry or unit in which any forest produce is used as raw material or as a source of energy or fuelwood;
(e) "forest offence" means an offence punishable under this Act, or under any rule made under this Act;
(f) "Forest Officer" includes the Principal Chief Conservator, Chief Conservator, Conservator divisional Forest Officer, Deputy and Assistant Conservators, Range Officers, Junior Range Officers, Foresters, Deputy Foresters, Forest Guards, Members of the Forest Protection Force and any person whom the Government or any officer empowered by the Government may, from time to time, appoint by name or as holding an office to carry out all or any of the purposes of the Forest Act, or to do anything required by this Act or any rule made under this Act to be done by a Forest Officer;
(g) "forest produce" includes-
(a) the following, when found in or brought from, a forest or not, that is to say ; timber, cautchus, catechu, woodoil, resin, natural varnish, bark, lac, mahus flowers, myrabolams and krench lobidwola-dioscoria, firewood, humus, charcoal, rasoant, carbon chips, rosin, turpentine and fungi (guchhies); and
(b) the following when found in, or brought from, a forest, that is to say:-
(i) trees and leaves, flowers and fruits and all other parts or produce not hereinbefore mentioned of such trees ;
(ii) plants not being trees ( including Kuth, bamboos, grass, creepers, reeds and moss) and all parts of produce of such plants ;
(iii) wild animals and skins, tusks, horns, bones, silk cocoons, honey and wax and all,other parts or produce of animals ; and
(iv) peat, surface soil, rock and minerals (including limestone, laterite, mineral oils and all products of mines or quarries);
(h) "river" includes streams, canals, creaks and other channels, natural or artificial excepting such khuls and channels as are constructed and maintained by the Zamindars at their own expenses for purpose of irrigation and in regard to which no settlement has been arrived between the Forest and the Revenue Departments to bring them within this definition;
(i) "saw mill" means any device and machinery with which and the premises (including the precincts thereof) in which or in any part of which sawing is carried on with the aid of electrical and mechanical power;
(j) "timber" includes trees when they have fallen or have been felled, and all wood whether cut up or fashioned or hallowed out for any purpose or not;
(k) "transporter" includes a person, a private agency, a Government Department, Corporation or any other agency engaged in transport of forest produce whether on his own behalf or on behalf of any other person ;
(l) "tree" includes palms, stumps, brush-wood and cane ;
(m) "undemarcated forest" means and includes all forest land (other than demarcated forest) which is the property of the Government and is not appropriated for any specific purpose and further includes all the undemarcated and beam line forest vested with the Forest Department under the provisions of section 48 of the Jammu and Kashmir Village Panchayat Act, 1958 or any other law for the time being in force.