Laws at War

About this book

This book goes where none has gone before: the dark, convoluted alleys inside the conservation laws of India.

There have been compilations of laws and rules, with discussions on judgments and case laws. But no one has dissected our conservation laws with the purpose of identifying the features which militate against conservation itself. Now we know that the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, India's principal conservation tool, is riddled with internal contradictions and inconsistencies. Also, that people often violate some of its provisions when they comply with others. The government imperiously uses one law to do things that other laws prohibit. And, they have made new laws to undermine existing ones.

The book illustrates how the country has committed ecological harakiri by bringing in the Forest Rights Act 2006. The author also shows how these bickering laws can still be fitted seamlessly together by smoothening their rough edges. He even argues in favour of a single integrated conservation law.

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