(1) If a user group wants to take any part of the national forest as a community forest, they should submit an application to the District Forest Officer in the format as per schedule-14.
(2) If the District Forest Officer has to make additions or reductions in the work plan based on the application and the work plan submitted by the consumer group for approval according to sub-rule (1), the forest area as per the approved work plan with the consent of the consumer group shall be given to the consumer group as a community forest. It will be handed over as a community forest after agreeing to comply with the conditions set by the government. In this way, the certificate of community forest handover according to schedule-15 will also be handed over to the concerned consumer group.
(3) If the forest area is assigned as a community forest, the boundaries of villages, towns and districts will not be affected.
(4) If the forest area to be handed over as a community forest falls within two or more districts, the district forest officer of the district in which the application has been submitted can hand over the community forest with the consent of the district forest officer of the other district.
(5) Monitoring and evaluation of the community forest handed over according to sub-rules (2) and (4) shall be done by the District Forest Officer of the respective district.