India has significant bamboo resources, with over 130 species across 18 genera. Although bamboo is technically a grass, Indian law defines it as a tree. As bamboo was primarily found in forests, it falls under forest laws regulating harvesting, trade, and transportation. The Indian Forest Act of 1927, the Forest Conservation Act of 1980, and the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers Act of 2006 govern bamboo. Harvesting of bamboo from reserved forests requires permission from the forest department, while bamboo from private lands requires certificates of origin and transport permits. State laws also regulate bamboo in some areas of India.

1. Regulatory Constraints on Bamboo

2. India is well endowed with resources of bamboo, the second largest in the world. Bamboo grows on millions of hectares of forest land, in homesteads and on private plantations. There are almost 130 species in India, spread across 18 genera.

7. Indian Forest Act 1927 is the single largest & most important piece of legislation on forests. This act has only minor differences with the 1878 Forest Act with the philosophy remaining the same.

8. Forest Act 1927,classifies forests into three categories, Reserved Forests, Protected Forest Village Forests

9. The Forest Conservation Act, 1980, deals with restriction on allotment of “Forest Lands” for non forest purposes and de-reservation of reserved forests.

10. Objective of “Forest Conservation Act 1980” was to empower the central government in directly managing country's forest's

11. Forest’s were transferred to the concurrent list of the constitution by the 42 nd Amendment Act of 1976 and Ministry of Environment & Forests was set up in 1980 and central government could intervene.

12. Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006, gives forest dwellers access to minor forest produce, including rights to sell, and a stake in the preservation of open spaces.

13. Forest Act 1927 section 26, prohibits harvesting of bamboo in reserved forest except by forest department.

14. Harvesting of bamboo from protected forest is done with written permission of the forest department as per the guidelines.

15. Forest Act 1927, section 41 & 42 of chapter VII under clause (1) of section 41, spells about transit rules of bamboo (forest produce), where control of forest produce (bamboo) is vested with the state government.

16. Harvesting of bamboo from private lands, requires “CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN” and transport of bamboo from forest land requires “TRANSIT PERMIT” from the forest department.

17. Most of the states in the country have their respective laws on bamboo, as prior to 1976 forest was a state subject.

18. Section 27 of Indian Forest Act prohibits removal of bamboo (forest produce) from reserved forest, except by the forest department and forest department have rights to arrest without warrant.

19. In the following states mentioned below, bamboo grown in captive plantations is not a forest produce and therefore the requirements of harvesting permission or permit of transporting bamboos thus grown is not required. Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujrat, Maharashtra, Bihar & Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh & Uttaranchal

20. Laws on bamboo in Andhra Pradesh & Sikkim are slightly different compared to rest of the country.

22. Thank You www.bamboohouseindia.org www.greenlivelihoods.org Hyderabad India