India, July 17 -- India's ambitious goals for doubling farmers' incomes, expanding tree cover outside forests, and fulfilling global climate commitments have long hinged on one central idea: empowering farmers to grow, harvest, and market trees on their land with minimal interference.
The recently notified 'Model Rules for Tree Felling on Agricultural Land' were introduced with much fanfare as a policy breakthrough to simplify procedures and boost agro forestry. However, beneath the promises and the digital gloss, the reality is sobering. Instead of dismantling outdated regulatory mindsets, the new rules effectively reinforce them, only this time via an app-based platform. Far from ushering in a truly market-driven era of farm forestry, th...