Description

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Context:

For the first time since FRA 2006, the Union Government has sanctioned over 300 FRA cells under the Dharti Aba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyaan to assist with claim facilitation and data management, aiming to improve implementation across 18 States and UTs.

About Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006:

Feature	Details
Name of the Act	Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act
Recognition of Forest Rights	Grants legal rights to Scheduled Tribes and traditional forest dwellers over forest land they have been residing on for generations.
Individual and Community Rights	Includes rights to land for habitation and self-cultivation, access to minor forest produce, grazing areas, and conservation of community forest resources.
Empowerment of Gram Sabhas	Gram Sabhas are empowered to initiate the process of determining forest rights, verify claims, and play a central role in decision-making.
Protection Against Eviction	Ensures that no forest dweller is evicted without due recognition and settlement of their rights.
Sustainable Forest Management	Promotes conservation and biodiversity protection while securing the livelihood and cultural rights of forest-dependent communities.

Historical Context:

FRA implementation so far: For 19 years, implementation was entirely under the domain of state/UT governments. The Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs issued only advisory guidance, funded training, and compiled progress reports.

New Central Role: For the first time, the Center is financed directly to operate FRA structures, marking a policy shift. This indicates a departure from the previous hands-off perspective in which the center only asks to do “exhorted”work.

About the Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA)

Aspect	Details
Scheme Name	DAJGUA (Central scheme by Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs)
Launch Date	October 2024
Objective	Expedited implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA)
Integrated Interventions	25 interventions from 17 line ministries
Target Area	Tribal villages across India
FRA Cells Sanctioned	324 district-level FRA cells in 18 states/UTs
State-Level FRA Cells Approved	For 17 out of 18 regions
Key Operational Guideline	FRA cells to assist in quick disposal of pending claims (esp. post-DLC approval)
Total FRA Claims (across 21 states)	51.11 lakh
Pending FRA Claims	14.45% of total
Rejected FRA Claims	Over 42% of disposed claims

What Are FRA Cells?

FRA cells are the newly established Forest Rights Act (FRA) facility units, which have been approved by the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs under DAJGUA.

These cells are expected to work as facilitators, help individuals, and instead of working as decision-making bodies to Gram Sabhas, prepare their claims and manage data.

Geographical Coverage

State	Number of FRA Cells Sanctioned	Pendency Rate (%)
Madhya Pradesh	55	Low
Chhattisgarh	30	Low
Telangana	29	50.27%
Maharashtra	26	Low
Assam	25	Over 60%
Jharkhand	24	Low

Structure and Functions of FRA Cells

According to the DAJGUA guidelines, these cells have to work under the supervision of State Tribal Welfare departments and district administrations, help with the claimants and Gram Sabha:

Preparation of paperwork for claims, including evidence collection and Gram Sabha resolutions.
Conversion of forests and untreated settlements in revenue villages.
The demarcation of forest land already lies for the contenders.
Digitization of records and updating government portals.

The government has clarified that these FRA cells will not interfere with the decisions taken by the state departments designated under Gram Sabha, Sub-divisional level committees (SDLCs), district level committees (DLCs), or State departments designated under the FRA.

Challenges and Experts' Opinions

Experts express concern over a "parallel FRA mechanism" outside the scope of FRA.
The purpose of FRA cells is to assist claimants and Gram Sabhas with paperwork and data management without interfering with the decisions of the statutory committee.
FRA is provided through funding grant-in-ed general for cells, in which each district-level cell gets ₹ 8.67 lahks and each state-level cell gets ₹ 25.85 lahks.

Criticisms

Similar mechanisms have been implemented in Odisha, although the impact has been mixed due to overlapping responsibilities with legal FRA committees.

Critics argue that the actual issue is sub-division and unethical meetings of district-level committees and there is a delay of forest departments in processing approved claims.

Source: The Hindu

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q. The creation of FRA cells under the Dharti Aba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyaan marks a significant shift in the Centre’s role in implementing the Forest Rights Act, 2006. Critically examine the implications of this shift for tribal empowerment and grassroots forest governance. (250 words).