Chapter X MISCELLANEOUS

79. (1) Without prejudice to the powers conferred upon a forest officer under this Act, Government may, by notification, invest any forest officer with all or any of the following powers, that is to say :-

1. (a) to enter upon any land and survey, demarcate and make a map of the same;
2. (b) to compel the attendance of witnesses, production of documents and the materials of objection;
3. (c) to hold investigation into forest offence, and in the course of such investigation to receive and record evidence;
4. (d) to notify the seasons and manner in which fire may be kindled, kept or carried in a Reserved Forest or Forest;
5. (e) to grant permits referred to in the provisions of this Act;
6. (f) to give public notice of timber collected under section 45;
7. (g) to notify stations, depots for the receptions and sale of timber and forest produce;
8. (h) to take possession of property under this Act;
   • (i) to stop and check any vehicle suspected of being involved in a forest offence;
9. (j) to compound cases and charge compensation for damages caused by commission of forest offence.

1. (2) Any evidence recorded under clause (c) of sub-section (1) shall be admissible in any subsequent trial before a Magistrate :

Forest officer deemed to be public servant 80.

Indemnity for acts done in good faith 81. (1) No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall lie against any forest officer for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act or any rule or order made thereunder.

1. (2) No suit or other legal proceedings shall lie against the Government for any damage caused or likely to be caused for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act or any rule or order made thereunder.

82. No forest officer shall, either as principal or an agent or in any other capacity, trade in timber or other forest produce or become interested in any lease or mortgage of any forest within or outside the State of Sikkim.

83. (1) The Government may, by notification, make rules to carry out all or any of the purposes of this Act.

1. (2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely :-
   • (a) to confer or limit the power and duties of any forest officer under this Act;
   • (b) to regulate the procedure of working by the forest officer under this Act;
   • (c) for the preservation, reproduction and disposal of trees, timber and other forest produce belonging to Government or otherwise, grown on land belonging to or in the occupation of private persons;
   • (d) to regulate the rewards to be paid to officers and informers;
   • (e) to regulate the cuttings, felling, sale and disposal of trees in private holdings, or gorucharan or khasmal forest;
   • (f) the fees to be levied in respect of licences, permits, passes or permissions issued under this Act or rules made thereunder;
   • (g) to prescribe the distance from the centre of the National Highway and other Highways as road reserve under sub-section (4) and sub-section (5) of section 29;
   • (h) any other matter which is required to be or may be prescribed.

84. Any person who contravenes any provision of this Act or any rule made under this Act for contravention of which no separate penalty is provided, shall on conviction, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with a fine which may extend to six thousand rupees or with both.

85. Every person who, (i) exercises any right in a reserve forest, khasmal forest or gorucharan forest or any other forest land; or

1. (ii) is permitted to take any forest produce from such forest or forest land; or
2. (iii) cuts and removes timber; or
3. (iv) pastures cattle in any forest; or
4. (v) is employed by any of the persons hereinbefore mentioned in a village contiguous to such a forest; or
5. (vi) is employed by the Government; or
6. (vii) receives the emoluments from the Government for services performed to the community; shall be bound to furnish without unnecessary delay to nearest forest officer any information that he may possess regarding the occurrence of fire in or near such forest or commission of any forest offence and shall forthwith take steps,-

1. (a) to extinguish any forest fire in such forest or which he has knowledge or information;
2. (b) to prevent by any lawful means in his power any fire in the vicinity of such forest of which he has knowledge of or information from spreading to such forest and shall assist any forest officer demanding his aid;
3. (c) in preventing the commission of any forest offences; and
4. (d) when there is reason to believe that any such offences has been committed, in such forest, in discovering and arresting the offender.

1. (2) Any person who is required to act in accordance with sub-section (1) fails to do so without lawful excuse -
   • (a) to furnish information to the nearest forest officer;
   • (b) to take steps to extinguish any forest fire;
   • (c) to prevent spreading of fire;
   • (d) to assist any forest officer demanding his aid in preventing the commission of forest offence; shall, on conviction, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with a fine which shall not be less than five thousand rupees or with both.

86. All monies payable to the Government under this Act or under any rule made thereunder on account of the price of any forest produce or of expenses incurred in the execution of this Act in respect of such produce may, if not paid when due, be recovered as if it were an arrear of land revenue.

87. (1) When any money referred to in section 86 is payable for or in respect of any forest produce, the amount thereof shall be deemed to be the first charge on such produce and such produce may be taken possession of by a forest officer duly empowered and may be retained by him until such amount has been paid.

1. (2) If such amount is not paid within the period of one month from the date of receipt of a notice for such amount, the forest officer may sell such produce by public auction and the proceeds of sale shall be applied first in discharging such amount.
2. (3) The surplus of sale proceeds of such public auction, if any, if not claimed within sixty days from the date of sale by the person entitled thereto, shall be forfeited to the Government : Provided that the Government may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, order the refund of such surplus sale proceeds to the person entitled thereto within the period of three years from the date of sale.

88. When any person in accordance with any provision of this Act, or in compliance with any rule made thereunder, binds himself by any bond or instrument to perform any duty or act, or covenants by any bond or instrument that he, or that he and his servant and agents will abstain from any act, the whole sum mentioned in such bond or instrument as the amount to be paid in case of such breach of the conditions thereof, may notwithstanding anything in section 74 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, be recovered from him in case of such breach as if it were an arrear of land revenue.

89. If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the Government may by order not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, remove such difficulties:

Cognizance of offence 90. No Court shall take cognizance of any offence punishable under this Act except on a report in writing of the facts constituting such offence made by any forest officer not below the rank of a Range Officer.

91. (1) The Sikkim Forests, Water Courses and Road Reserve (Preservation and Protection) Ordinance, 1988 (Ordinance No. 2 of 1988), is hereby repealed.

1. (2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken in the exercise of the powers conferred by or under that Ordinance shall be deemed to have been done or taken in exercise of the powers conferred by or under this Act as if this Act was in force on the day on which such thing was done or such action was taken.
2. (3) All existing orders, notifications, rules, regulations, bye-laws, proclamations and other instrument having the force of law shall be deemed to have been made under this Act and they shall remain in force till the rules under the provisions of this Act are made.