Latest news with #ForestRightsAct2006
Time of India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Adivasis say Project Tiger and tourism are displacing them from their ancestral land
TOI correspondent from London: Indigenous communities across India are being pushed out of their ancestral lands in the name of tourism and expansion of tiger projects whilst the laws to protect them are being diluted and not implemented properly, Adivasis told a global press briefing on Monday. 'They say India has got freedom. But I think Adivasi people have not yet got freedom,' J C Shivamma, from the Jenu Kuruba tribe, said at the online event organised by Community Network Against Protected Areas. She is among the 52 households who reoccupied their ancestral land within Nagarhole tiger reserve on May 5, 35 years after their families were forcibly evicted. 'Some of our family members died when in the plantations, but our sacred deities, our graveyard, everything that concerns us, is still in the village, so we used to go back to bury our people in our ancestral land, but it was always a fight with the forest department toconduct rituals. We consider our ancestors to be on the lands, they become deities and this way we were tortured. If we have to die, we will die on our ancestral land,' she said. Shivu JA recalled how their houses were burnt and elephants brought to destroy their fields when they were evicted from Karadikallu. 'This land is ours. It's not any tiger project or scheme of the govt for tiger conservation,' he said. 'Our elders are very happy now. We are having our food, we are going for honey collection. We have our own water resource. We sit together in the evening, and they are teaching us songs. All these songs and lessons were silenced for 40 years." 'The forest department keeps saying that only after your rights are recognised, you can live on this land. We already have these rights,' he said. The Jenu Kurubas are filing a case against the Forest Department under the SC/ST Atrocities Act for withholding their rights and filing an appeal against 39 rejected forest rights claims. 'Why are their rights not being recognised despite the notification of central legislation such as the Forest Rights Act 2006,' asked scholar Nitin Rai. 'People across the country in different states are fighting the same battles. It is important to find a way to raise a collective voice for what is happening all over,' said lawyer Lara Jesani.
Time of India
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Over 20,000 villages in MP to get Community Forest Resource Rights
Indore: The Madhya Pradesh govt has decided to speed up the process of granting Community Forest Resource (CFR) Rights to around 20,000 villages in the state. Madhya Pradesh is among the states with the fewest villages so far receiving CFR Rights, a special category under section 3(1)(i) of the FRA, 2006, which empowers gram sabhas (village councils) to legally manage their traditional forests. These rights ensure community-led conservation and sustainable use of forest resources, said official sources. So far, four villages in the state have been provided these rights, while there is a target to extend the same to around 20,000 villages in Madhya Pradesh. This information was shared by experts to collectors, DFOs, zila panchayat CEOs, and other senior officials of the Indore-Ujjain division during a two-day divisional-level workshop focusing on community forest rights and the conservation and management of forest resources. The workshop, organised in line with the state govt's directives for the effective implementation of the Forest Rights Act 2006 , concluded in Indore on Friday. Resource persons Sharadchandra Lele from the ATREE Institute, Bangalore, and Ashwini Kange, working in Chhattisgarh, provided detailed information on the process of conservation and management of community forests as per the provisions of the Forest Rights Act and the procedures for their recognition, through presentations and short films. They explained how to maintain and manage forests effectively. The state govt has sped up the conversion of a total of 925 'Van Gram' (forest villages) into 'Rajasva Gram' (revenue villages). "We have urged the state govt to carry out a proper survey and settlement of agricultural fields in 925 Van Gram before converting them into Rajasva Gram, else the farmlands of people would be considered as encroachment," Lele said. In the workshop, Indore divisional commissioner Deepak Singh urged officials to actively participate in recognising maximum number of community forest rights in their respective areas, in accordance with the govt's vision, and to play a proactive role in forest conservation and management.
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Govt focuses on community forest rights, conservation
Indore: The state govt has decided to emphasise on conservation, promotion, operation, and maintenance of jungles through forest committees, which have been granted legal rights for the purpose of sustainable protection of forests and creating awareness among tribal communities about their rights. In a step towards the effective implementation of the Forest Rights Act 2006 , a two-day divisional-level workshop on community forest rights , conservation, and management of forest resources commenced in Indore on Thursday. On the first day of the workshop, training was provided to non-official members. The second day will witness a training session for govt officials. This session will include collectors and divisional forest officers from the Indore and Ujjain divisions, chief executive officers of zila panchayats and assistant commissioners of the tribal affairs department. Addressing the gathering, principal secretary Gulshan Bamra provided information about the objectives of the workshop and elaborated on the Forest Rights Act. He also highlighted the actions being taken by the state govt regarding the granting of community rights under the Act. Divisional commissioner Deepak Singh stated that special emphasis is now being placed on community rights under the Forest Rights Act, particularly the conservation and management of forests. He explained that community forest rights include basic infrastructure such as roads, bridges, hospitals, schools, and religious sites. He further informed that a detailed action plan is being prepared through the workshop, which will clearly outline the activities permitted for forest committees and those that will be restricted.
