Minister seeks report on Nagarahole incident as tribals assert their rights under FRA
Consequent to the tribals occupying forest in Nagarahole seeking immediate settlement of their rights as per the Forest Rights Act, 2006, Minister for Forests, Ecology and Environment, Eshwar B. Khandre, has sought a report from the local officials on the ground situation.
The Minister's response stems from the increase in tension in the tiger reserve where scores of tribals have stayed put near Karadikallu, resulting in a stand-off between the Forest Department and them.
Though the Forest Department has maintained that the applications under Forest Rights Act have to be cleared by the Forest Rights Committee or gram sabha, the tribals have claimed that the authorities were sitting on their applications despite furnishing all documents.
Mr. Khandre said that the report, including the court orders and the action taken report on resettlement or recognition of tribal rights, should be furnished to him in two days.
Sources said the tribals were taking turns and continuing to remain in the forest despite pleas from the authorities to disperse.
The tribal representatives have claimed that they are only asserting their rights as they are the original inhabitants of the forests and the FRA only affirms their existing rights and was not bestowing new rights.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
13 hours ago
- Time of India
Survey company selected for Forest Rights Act implementation
Panaji: The state cabinet on Wednesday approved the appointment of Polestar Surveys to carry out survey demarcation, preparation of plans, and fixing of boundary stones concerning claims received under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The FRA is a landmark legislation aimed at recognising and vesting forest rights in forest-dwelling communities, particularly Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers. In Goa, the implementation of the FRA has been progressing slowly, with around 10,500 claims received, but only a small fraction was processed and settled. As of June 2025, around 806 land titles (sanads) were distributed, highlighting the need for expedited action to address the backlog. A critical component of FRA's implementation is the accurate demarcation of land boundaries to ensure rightful claims. This process involves survey demarcation, preparation of plans, and the fixing of boundary stones. Previously, Theovel Surveys, Bengaluru, was contracted to undertake this work. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, including the demise of a key partner and financial constraints, the firm expressed its inability to continue. The disposal of forest rights claims is being monitored by the Supreme Court.
The Hindu
17 hours ago
- The Hindu
In forest rights push, Centre sanctions over 300 FRA cells to ‘facilitate' implementation
In a first since the Forest Rights Act (FRA) came into being in 2006, the Union government has started funding structural mechanisms to 'facilitate' the implementation of the law meant to give forest rights to Scheduled Tribes and forest-dwelling communities. Implementation of the FRA, for the last 19 years, has been solely the domain of State and union territory governments. Under the Dharti Aba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyaan (DAJGUA), a Central scheme, the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs has so far sanctioned the setting up of 324 district-level FRA cells across 18 States and union territories implementing the forest rights law. In addition, State-level FRA cells have been sanctioned for 17 of these States and union territories. The rules governing the operation of these cells flow from the DAJGUA programme and not the principal legislation of the FRA - The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. This law mandates the State government to set up the structure for processing forest rights claims, which includes Gram Sabha Forest Rights Committees (FRCs), Sub-Divisional Level Committees (SDLCs), District Level Committees (DLCs), and State Monitoring Committees. Activists' concern With the new FRA cells being set up through the DAJGUA programme, forest rights activists and experts have raised concerns of this being a 'parallel FRA mechanism outside of FRA's purview'. A government official told The Hindu, 'These FRA cells will have no role in interfering with decisions made by the Gram Sabha, Sub-Divisional Level Committees, District Level Committees, or State government departments under the FRA. They will merely assist claimants and Gram Sabhas to prepare all paperwork for the FRA claims and assist with data management'. The DAJGUA was launched in October 2024 and brings together 25 interventions of 17 line ministries for targeted implementation in over 68,000 tribal-dominated villages. One component of the DAJGUA programme is to speed up FRA implementation. The operational guidelines for DAJGUA mandate the FRA cells to help with 'quick disposal' of pending claims, especially ones that have been held up even after the District Level Committees' approval. According to the last available progress report from March 2025, 14.45% of the 51.11 lakh FRA claims across 21 States/union territories remain pending. Of the around 43 lakh claims that have been disposed of, over 42% were rejected. The highest number of district FRA cells sanctioned so far has been in Madhya Pradesh, where 55 have been approved. This is followed by 30 in Chhattisgarh, 29 in Telangana, 26 in Maharashtra, 25 in Assam, and 24 in Jharkhand. Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Jharkhand are among the States with the least FRA pendency, but in Assam, over 60% of claims are pending and in Telangana, around 50.27% claims are pending. While the rules framed under the DAJGUA mandate the FRA cells to operate under the State government's machinery, the cells themselves are being funded by the Centre through Grants-in-aid General, as per sanction orders for some of them in States like Assam, Himachal Pradesh, and Odisha, seen by The Hindu. The guidelines provide a budget of ₹8.67 lakh for each FRA cell at the district level, and ₹25.85 lakh for each State-level FRA cell. Significant departure This marks a significant departure from how Union governments have handled the issue of FRA implementation ever since the law was framed. So far, when confronted with the question of forest rights in Parliament, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has maintained that the implementation was mandated 'primarily' to States and that it keeps 'exhorting' all governments to abide by the law. Apart from this, the Tribal Affairs Ministry has traditionally restricted itself to funding training and capacity-building programmes for State government officials at the centre of the FRA implementation, issuing advisories and missives to State governments, and compiling monthly progress reports on FRA data sent by the States. The DAJGUA guidelines clearly spell out that the FRA cells will deal with all matters of FRA implementation 'as directed' by the State Tribal Welfare departments and district administrations and that it will help both claimants and Gram Sabhas to prepare the claims paperwork for presentation to the Forest Rights Committees. This includes gathering evidence, certificates, Gram Sabha resolutions and putting together a claims file; assisting the Gram Sabha in conversion of forest and un-surveyed villages and habitations into revenue villages; completing demarcation of forest lands already vested to claimants; facilitating the digitisation of records and their feeding into the relevant portals. While this is the first time such FRA cells are being proposed by the Union government to speed up FRA implementation, the Odisha government has been using a similar mechanism for a couple of years now that operated as facilitators from outside of the statutory structure that processes FRA claims, according to forest rights researcher Tushar Dash. 'But the response to such a system has been mixed so far. There are concerns that many of the tasks assigned to the FRA cells already come under the functions of statutory committees set up under the FRA leading to confusion at the ground level on who to approach for what,' Mr. Dash told The Hindu. He further explained that creating more committees or cells 'will not address the structural problems in implementing the FRA'. 'It is known that a large reason for pending claims is that Sub-Divisional Level Committees and District Level Committees don't meet to decide on claims as often as they should. Secondly, there is the problem of Forest departments sitting on claims even after the approval of the DLCs,' Mr. Dash said.
Indian Express
a day ago
- Indian Express
Community forest rights can end Naxalism. Gadchiroli is an example
Home Minister Amit Shah has declared that this government would end Naxalism by 31 March 2026. The Centre has also urged Naxal-affected states to expedite local infrastructure development programmes and provide the best possible rehabilitation packages to surrendered Naxals, while simultaneously continuing operations. These strategies have led to mixed results. Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra, in addition to the above strategies, has pushed for the recognition of customary and traditional rights of forest-dwelling communities over forest resources as a strategy to end Naxalism. Gadchiroli district's recognition of community forest rights (CFRs) is among the most advanced in the country. Forest-dwelling communities of the district collectively own 5,110.07 sq km of the district's 9,902.8 sq km of forest. This is unparalleled in comparison to any other part of the country, especially in a district where the Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste populations constitute 38.17 per cent and 11.25 per cent, respectively. All of this began with the recognition of the first community forest rights in India in August 2009, for the village of Mendha Lekha in Gadchiroli under the Forest Rights Act, 2006. The Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, recognises the pre-existing rights of forest-dwelling communities over forest resources irrespective of the classification of forests. These rights, in addition to several customary rights, grant exclusive control to these communities over all types of minor forest produce, including rights to bamboo and tendu leaves, and management rights through the Gram Sabha. While states across the country remain reluctant to recognise community forest rights and tend to deregulate colonial and post-colonial regulations on minor forest produce, Gadchiroli has witnessed significant developments. The first transit pass to sell bamboo by the Gram Sabha to contractors of their choice was handed over to the Gram Sabha of Mendha Lekha by the then Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and the then Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh. The process of deregulation and recognition of CFRs continued thereafter, despite the shift in political power. The current Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis, during his first tenure (2014–2019), introduced a series of schemes, including financial support of Rs 1.78 lakh, to support the recognised CFR villages. Similarly, the Governor's Office of Maharashtra directed the state to modify its minor forest produce regulations and allowed the Gram Sabhas of Fifth Schedule areas to own, auction, and dispose of their collected minor forest produce to anyone who offers them a better price. Today, 1,109 CFR-recognised villages in the district are exercising these rights and have benefited enormously. The households in CFR-recognised villages earn a minimum of Rs 7,000 per month from forest resources. More importantly, a democratic, decentralised, and transparent process governs the forest resources. CFRs have provided livelihood security to thousands of forest-dwelling communities, protected tribal autonomy, and ensured the sustainable use of forest resources. Our research shows that forests managed by Gram Sabhas in Gadchiroli have experienced less deforestation than forest areas regulated by the Forest Department, where logging continues in an unsustainable and uncontrolled fashion. Economic outcomes have also been particularly remarkable: reduction in migration, less dependence on middlemen, creation of forest-based employment opportunities, and investment in education and health sectors. Many CFR-recognised Gram Sabhas have reinvested incomes from the forest into improving their recognised CFR areas. They have adopted forest plantation programmes and regularly patrolled the forest to protect it from both internal and external threats. A combination of factors explains these phenomenal achievements. First is the long history of collective action and grassroots movements initiated by local tribal leaders. They did not depend on external agencies or NGOs for their forest rights. While across the country the implementation of the FRA is largely NGO-driven, the case of Gadchiroli has been unique — driven by organic local initiatives. Also vital has been the district leadership and administration's genuine commitment to the decentralisation of decision-making over forests, irrespective of political alignment. The District Collector's office has initiated a series of activities, making policies at the Gram Sabha level more responsive to sustainable tribal livelihood and forest conservation. To date, the administration has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with 728 Gram Sabhas to provide necessary technical and financial support in the development, management, and implementation of the recognised CFR areas. Nevertheless, numerous challenges continue for forest-dwelling communities, especially in South Gadchiroli. Many villagers are afraid of displacement due to recent mining proposals. The Maharashtra government needs to ensure that its proposed development model—including steel plants, and mining proposals in tribal-populated areas—does not inhibit the exercise of recognised rights and safeguards under PESA (Provisions of the Panchayats [Extension to Scheduled Areas] Act) and FRA. It also needs to streamline its progressive district and block-level convergence schemes, implement them in a concerted manner, and provide communities with greater support to ensure their well-being and local development. Gadchiroli's community forest rights have been a success. The district administration's strategy — combining rehabilitation packages, local infrastructure development, and decentralisation of power — is worth replicating in other Naxal-affected areas in the country. The writer is a Professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
