New Delhi, Feb. 4 -- The Supreme Court on Monday restrained the Centre and the states from taking any step that would reduce forest areas, until further orders.
Hearing a batch of petitions against the amendments to the 2023 forest conservation law, a bench of Justices BR Gavai and K Vinod Chandran said: "We will not permit anything which leads to reduction of forest area. We further order that until further orders, no steps will be taken by the Union of India and any state which will lead to reduction of forest land unless compensatory land is provided by the Centre and the states..."
Additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, said she would file response on the applications filed in the matter within three w...