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Context

The 2006 Forest Rights Act (FRA) seeks to correct historical injustices by granting forest communities rights to their traditional lands for livelihood, cultivation, sustenance, and resource governance. Its implementation, however, is challenging and needs a clear strategy for full realization.

What is Forest Rights Act 2006?

The Forest Rights Act of 2006, effective 2008, legally recognizes the pre-existing rights of forest dwellers nationwide, which were often unacknowledged.

Key Provisions

• Individual Forest Rights (IFRs): Grants rights to forest land for habitation and self-cultivation for individuals who occupied it before December 13, 2005.
• Community Forest Rights (CFRs): The Gram Sabha, or village assembly, has the authority to govern common forest resources, which includes recognizing the community's rights to access, use, manage, and conserve Minor Forest Produce (MFP), grazing lands, and traditional intellectual property.
• Habitat Rights for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs): Recognizes and protects the habitat rights of PVTGs, acknowledging their distinct cultural practices and extreme socio-economic vulnerability.
• Role of the Gram Sabha: The Gram Sabha determines forest rights under the Act, initiating the process, verifying claims, mapping, passing resolutions, and monitoring implementation. 

Major Challenges in FRA Implementation

• Bureaucratic Obstacles: Forest departments resist ceding control, viewing FRA as "encroachment regularization" rather than a rights-based measure, causing delays.
• Neglect of Community Rights: Overemphasis on Individual Forest Rights (IFRs) while Community Forest Resource (CFR) rights, which empower communities with management control, are largely ignored.
• Complex Processes and High Rejection Rates: Difficult claim procedures for forest dwellers (many illiterate, in remote areas), with the 75-year occupancy proof requirement leading to high rejection rates.
• Conflicting Legislation: FRA clashes with other environmental and forest laws (e.g., Indian Forest Act, 1927, Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972), creating ambiguity and enabling land diversion without Gram Sabha consent.
• Political Interference and Apathy: Lack of political commitment, with governments undermining FRA for financial gains (e.g., mining, industrial projects) or due to tribal communities lacking a large vote bank.
• Institutional Capacity Deficiencies: The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA), the nodal agency for FRA, is criticized for being understaffed or lacking capacity for proper implementation and monitoring.

Way Forward

Empowering Gram Sabhas and Building Capacity:

• Strengthen Gram Sabhas' decision-making with financial and technical support, enabling them to develop and execute Community Forest Resource Management Plans (CFRMPs).
• Integrate digital tools like GIS mapping for delineating and monitoring community forest areas.

Streamlining Rights Recognition:

• Simplify claims processing procedures for forest dwellers.
• Expedite recognition of Community Forest Rights (CFRs) and support their sustainable management and integration into broader forest plans.

Harmonizing FRA with Conservation Efforts:

• Implement collaborative conservation models that integrate traditional knowledge into Protected Area management, exploring community coexistence in tiger reserves (e.g., Soliga tribe).
• Relocation from Protected Areas requires voluntary, prior, and informed consent, with equitable rehabilitation as a last resort. 

Strengthening Inter-Ministerial Coordination:

Improve collaboration between the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA), Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), and state forest departments.

Leveraging Technology for Governance:

Utilize AI, IoT, GIS for precise mapping of forest rights, creating transparent land records, and monitoring forest health, including detecting fires and encroachments.

Conclusion

The Forest Rights Act of 2006, crucial for justice and conservation, faces implementation challenges. Empowering Gram Sabhas, simplifying processes, and promoting collaboration are key to enabling forest dwellers to become true custodians and beneficiaries, ensuring a just, sustainable future.

Source: THEHINDU