Sovereign land laws must integrate environmental protections and historical tribal land ownership claims.
1. Forest Conservation Act, 1980
Enacted to protect forests and prevent their conversion for commercial uses. Under the Act, no State Government can de-reserve forest land or authorize the use of forest land for non-forest purposes (like mining or industrial setup) without the prior approval of the Central Government.
2. Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA)
The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 recognizes the individual and community forest rights of forest-dwelling communities who have occupied forest land for generations, correcting historical injustices.
3. Prohibition of Tribal Land Transfers
The Fifth Schedule of the Constitution and state-specific Land Transfer Regulation Acts absolutely prohibit the transfer of tribal land to non-tribals to protect tribal communities from exploitation and displacement.
The Supreme Court held that the word 'person' in the AP Scheduled Areas Land Transfer Regulation Act includes the State Government. Consequently, the state government is prohibited from leasing out tribal lands in scheduled areas to private mining companies or non-tribals for commercial exploitation. The ruling established that scheduled area land must be preserved for tribals, and cooperative mining by tribals is the only permissible commercial model.