Chapter II RESERVED FORESTS

3.

Notification by Government 4. Whenever it is proposed to declare any land as a reserved forest, the Government shall issue a notification specifying therein, (a) that it has been decided to declare such land as a reserved forest;

1. (b) as nearly as possible, the situation and limits of such land; and
2. (c) the appointment of an officer (hereinafter referred to as the Forest Settlement Officer) to enquire into the matter and determine the existence, nature and extent of any rights relating to collection of dry sticks and grazing alleged to exist in favour of any person in or over any land comprised within such limits, or in or over any forest produce, and to deal with the same as provided in this Chapter.

5. After the issue of a notification under section 4, no right shall be acquired in or over the land comprised in such notification except by succession or under a grant or contract in writing made or entered into by or on behalf of the Government or some person in whom such right was vested when the notification was issued.

6. When a notification has been issued under section 4, the Forest Settlement Officer shall publish in the language commonly spoken in every town and villages in the neighbourhood of the land comprised therein, a proclamation, (a) specifying, as nearly as possible, the situation and limits of the proposed forest;

1. (b) explaining the consequences which, as hereinafter provided, will ensue on the reservation of such forest; and
2. (c) fixing a period of not less than one month from the date of such proclamation, and requiring every person claiming any right mentioned in section 4 or section 5, within such period either to present to the Forest Settlement Officer a written statement specifying or to appear before him and state the nature of such right and the amount and particulars of the compensation, if any, claimed in respect thereof.

7. The Forest Settlement Officer shall record all statements made under section 6 and shall at some convenient place inquire into all claims preferred under that section, and the existence of any rights mentioned in section 4 or section 5 and not claimed under section 6 so far as the same may be ascertainable from the records of the Government and evidence of any persons likely to be acquainted with the same.

8. For the purpose of such inquiry, the Forest Settlement Officer may exercise the following powers, namely :, (a) the power to enter, by himself or any officer authorised by him for the purpose, upon land and to survey, demarcate and make a map of the same; and

1. (b) the powers of a Civil Court in the trial of suits.

9. Rights in respect of which no claim has been preferred under section 6 and of the existence of which no knowledge has been acquired by enquiry under section 7, shall be extinguished, unless, before the notification under section 17 is published, the person claiming those rights satisfies the Forest Settlement Officer that he had sufficient cause for not preferring such claim within the period fixed under section 6.

10. (1) In the case of a claim relating to the practice of shifting cultivation, the Forest Settlement Officer shall record a statement setting forth the particulars of the claim and of any local rule or order under which the practice is allowed or regularised, and submit the statement to the Government, together with his opinion as to whether the practice should be permitted or prohibited wholly or in part.

1. (2) On receipt of the statement and opinion, the Government may make an order permitting or prohibiting the practice wholly or in part.
2. (3) If such practice is permitted wholly or in part, the Forest Settlement Officer may arrange for its exercise, (a) by altering the limits of the land under settlement so as to exclude land of sufficient extent of a suitable kind, and in a locality reasonably convenient for the purposes of the claimants, or
   • (b) by causing certain portions of the land under settlement to be separately demarcated, and giving permission to the claimants to practice shifting cultivation therein under such conditions as he may prescribe.
3. (4) All arrangements made under sub-section (3) shall be subject to the previous sanction of the Government.
4. (5) The practice of shifting cultivation shall in all cases be deemed a privilege subject to control, restriction and abolition by the Government.

11. (1) In the case of a claim to a right in or over any land other than a right of way or right of pasture or a right to forest produce or a water-course, Forest Settlement Officer shall pass an order admitting or rejecting the same in whole or in part.

1. (2) If such claim is admitted in whole or in part, the Forest Settlement Officer shall either-
   • (i) exclude such land from the limits of the proposed forest;
   • (ii) come to an agreement with the owner thereof for the surrender of his right and proceed to acquire such land in the manner provided in the Sikkim Land (Requisition and Acquisition) Act, 1977.
2. (3) For the purpose of acquiring such land -
   • (a) the Forest Settlement Officer shall be deemed to be a Collector under the Sikkim Land (Requisition and Acquisition) Act, 1977;
   • (b) the claimant shall be deemed to be a person interested and appearing before him in pursuance of a notice given under section 5 of the Sikkim Land (Requisition and Acquisition) Act, 1977;
   • (c) the provisions of the preceding sections of the Sikkim Land (Requisition and Acquisition) Act, 1977 shall be deemed to have been complied with;
   • (d) the Forest Settlement Officer, with the consent of the claimant or with the consent of both parties, may award an amount for such acquisition.

12.

Record to be made by Forest Settlement Officer 13. (1) The Forest Settlement Officer, when passing any order under section 12, shall record, so far as may be practicable-

1. (a) the name, father's name, caste, residence and occupation of the person claiming the right; and
2. (b) the classification, position and area of all field or groups of fields, if any, and the classification and position of all buildings, if any, in respect of which the exercise of such right is claimed.

1. (2) If the Forest Settlement Officer admits in whole or in part any claim under section 12, he shall also record the extent to which the claim is so admitted, specifying the number and the description of the cattle which the claimant is, from time to time, entitled to graze in the forest, the season during which such pasture is permitted.

14. Any person who has made a claim under this Act or any forest officer or other person generally or specially empowered by the Government in this behalf may, within one month from the date of the order passed under sections 11 and 12 prefer an appeal from such order to such Appellate Authority as the Government may, by notification, appoint.

15. (1) Every appeal under section 14 shall be made by petition in writing giving the grounds for appeal and may be delivered to the Forest Settlement Officer who shall forward it without delay to the Appellate Authority.

1. (2) No appeal shall be disposed of unless the parties thereto have been given the opportunity of being heard.
2. (3) The Appellate Authority appointed under section 14 may confirm, set aside or modify the order of the Forest Settlement Officer, as the case may be, and the order of the Appellate Authority shall be final.

16. The Government or any person who has made a claim under this Act, may appoint any person to appear, plead and act on its or his behalf before the Forest Settlement Officer, or the Appellate Authority, in any proceedings under this Act.

17. (1) When the following events have occurred, namely :-

1. (a) the period fixed under section 6 for preferring claim has elapsed, and all claims, if any, made under that section or section 9 have been disposed of by the Forest Settlement Officer;
2. (b) if any such claims has been made, the period specified in section 14 for appeal from the order passed on such claims has elapsed, and all appeals, if any, presented within such period have been disposed of by the Appellate Authority, and
3. (c) all lands, if any, to be included in the proposed forest, which the Forest Settlement Officer has, under section 11 acquired under the Sikkim Land (Requisition and Acquisition) Act, 1977 have become vested in the Government. The Government shall publish a notification specifying therein the definite boundary marks erected or otherwise the limits of the forest which is to be reserved and declaring the same to be reserved forest from a date fixed in the said notification.

1. (2) The notification issued under sub-section (1) shall be published in the villages and town in the neighbourhood of the reserved forest in the language commonly understood in the area.

18. The Forest Officer may, with the previous sanction of the Government or any officer duly authorised by it in this behalf, stop any public or private way or water course in a reserved forest, provided that a substitute for the way or water course so stopped, which the Government deems to be reasonably convenient, already exists, or has been provided or constructed by the Forest Officer in lieu thereof.

19. (1) Any forest which has been declared or set aside as reserved forest on or before the commencement of this Act under any law or rule or notification in force in the State of Sikkim, shall be deemed to be reserved forest.

1. (2) All question decided, orders made and records prepared in connection with the declaration of such forest as reserved forest shall be deemed to have been decided, made and prepared under the corresponding provisions of this Act.

20. Any person who, (a) makes any fresh clearing prohibited by section 5;

1. (b) converts a reserved forest or part thereof to any use other than forestry;
2. (c) uses reserved forest for growing commercial crops;
3. (d) leases forest areas to private parties for raising captive plantations or food crops;
4. (e) sets fire to a reserved forests;
5. (f) in contravention of any rules made under this Act, kindles any fire or leaves any fire burning in such manner as to endanger such forest;
6. (g) in contravention of the rules made under this Act, (i) kindles, keeps or carries any fire during such season other than the season specified by the forest officer;
   • (ii) tresspasses or pastures cattle or permits cattle to trespass;
7. (h) causes, by negligence, any damage, by felling any trees or cutting or dragging any timber;
   • (i) fells, cuts, girdles, lops, taps or burns any tree or strips off the bark or leaves of any tree or otherwise damage the same;
8. (j) quarries stone, burns lime or charcoal or collects or removes any forest produce;
9. (k) damages, alters or removes any cairn, wall, ditch, embankment, fence, hedge or railing, shall, on conviction, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees or with both and in addition to be liable to pay such compensation for the damage done to the forest as the convicting court may direct.

21. Whenever fire is caused wilfully or by gross negligence in a reserved forest by a person having rights in such forest or by person in his employment, the Government may, without prejudice to any other punishment that may be imposed under this Act, direct that in such forest or any specified portion thereof the exercise of all or any of the rights of pasture, grazing or collection of forest produce by any such person shall be suspended for such period as it thinks fit or be extinguished.