India has dropped plans to give forest officials the right to use force against indigenous people and open up more land for commercial plantations after nationwide protests.
Proposed amendments to a century-old Indian Forest Act aimed to give officials the power to arrest and shoot at encroachers and earmark more land for reforestation, but land rights groups said this would make forest dwellers vulnerable to eviction.
The amendments were proposed in March, triggering protests in several parts of the country in the months following. Another protest was planned for Sunday. Environment and Forests Minister Prakash Javadekar said the government is committed to giving more rights to indigenous people and forest dwellers.