Recognition of community rights under forest rights act in. Forest rights act 2006 implementation and challenges. The basic objective in publishing the newsletter is to share. Read about the forest rights act of 2006 and how is it related to the civil service exam. Forest rights act, 2006 18 of 2003 40 of 1996 53 of 1972 forest rights of forest dwelling scheduled tribes and h habitat includes the area comprising the customary habitat and such other habitats in reserved forests and protected forests of primitive tribal groups and preagricultural communities and other forest dwelling scheduled tribes. Traditionally, people living in or near the forests were dependent on forests for their sustenance. The status of the forest rights act fra in protected. Adivasis and other forest dwellers rights over land. It admits the historical injustice done to indias tribal and other traditional forest dwelling communities due to their land and forest rights not being recognized during the consolidation of state forests. However, it did not emerge from struggles for the control over forests alone, but was a product of an ongoing intersection. Pdf the scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers recognition of forest rights act, 2006, commonly known as the forest. The scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers recognition of rights act more commonly referred to as the forest rights act or fra was enacted in 2006 and came into force in 2008.
Pacs has been supporting scheduled tribes sts and other forestdwelling groups to claim land title rights individual forest rights and common property rights community forest rights under the 2006 forest rights act fra. The act through identifying ifr and cfr tries to provide inclusion to tribes. Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers recognition of forest rights act, 2006. In addition to the recognition of individual householdbased rights, the fra also provides for community rights over forests. Any fresh encroachment that comes to the notice of the state forest departments would be treated under the applicable provisions of. Forest rights act recognises and secures community rights or rights over community forest resources, in addition to the individual rights. By recognizing the rights of communities over forests and natural resources, which they have. The context the issue of forest rights in india can be interpreted from diff erent perspectives depending on whether one is a forest dweller, forest offi cial, environmentalist, economist or social activist. The law concerns the rights of forestdwelling communities to land and other resources, denied to them over. The forest rights act represented a historic step forward for forest management in india, and it is often hailed as such.
The scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers recognition of forest rights act, 2006 fra legally recognises the rights of communities like the dongria kondh to live in and from their forests and to protect and manage their lands. The scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers recognition of rights act more commonly referred to as. The forest rights act a weapon of democracy in the forests. Forest rights act, 2006 directorate of tribal welfare. It was created to serve the british need for timber. An act to provide for the establishment of an effective system for protection of plant varieties, the rights of farmers and plant breeders and to encourage the development of new varieties of plants. The scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers. An act to consolidate the law relating to forests, the transit of forestproduce and the duty leviable on timber and other forestproduce. This act is crucial to the rights of millions of tribals and. Recognition of forest rights act, 2006 hitherto referred as forest rights act fra, a unique emancipatory law with the potential to transform the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of forestdependent people. Implementation of the forest rights act in india pubdocs.
Pdf forest rights act in ensuring tribal development. Rights act, 2006, commonly referred to as the forest right act fra. Interpretation clause chapter ii of reserved forests 3. Download forest rights act 2006 notes pdf for upsc 2020. The scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers recognition of forest rights act, 2006, is a key piece of forest legislation passed in india on 18 december 2006. Securing the forest rights of tribals the hindu businessline. It has the potential to democratise forest governance by recognising community forest resource rights over an estimated 85. An act to recognise and vest the forest rights and occupation in forest land in forestdwing scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers who. The objective of the recently enacted scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers recognition of forest rights act is to undo the. The scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers recognition of rights act, 2006. It also intends to empower the community and grants the right to protect forests, wildlife and biodiversity. The scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers recognition of forest rights act, 2006, is. It allows those who live in forested areas, and those who earn their livelihood from forested areas, to claim the legal rights to the forested land that they use. How did the indian forest rights act, 2006, emerge.
Recognition of community rights is a landmark step which is expected to empower communities. Neither this subchapter nor the act of december 29, 1916 39 stat. National forest policy 1952nfp 1952, national forest policy 1988nfp 1988, and recently the forest rights act 2006 bhullar 2008 have been implemented in tripura to check and reduce shifting. Forest rights act political economy of community forest. Potential for recognition of community forest resource. The status of the forest rights act fra in protected areas of india. Learn more about scheduled tribes and their issues related to land rights for indian polity syllabus for upsc.
An act to recognize and vest the forest rights and occupation in forest land in forest dwelling. It sought to override customary rights and forest management systems by declaring forests state property and exploiting their timber. The act goes beyond recognising individual forest rights to forest land. The recognition and vesting of forest rights under this act to the forest dwelling scheduled tribes and to other traditional forest dwellers in relation to any state or union territory in respect of forest land and their habitat shall be subject to the condition that such scheduled tribes or tribal communities or other traditional forest dwellers had occupied forest land before the th day of. Forest right act, land rights, scheduled tribe, scheduled areas, other traditional forest dwellers, customary and traditional forest rights abhijit mohanty implementation of the forest rights act, 2006 fra in india. The indian forest act, 1927, indias main forest law, had nothing to do with conservation. The act grants legal recognition to the rights of traditional forest dwelling communities, partially correcting the injustice caused by the forest laws. Forest rights provide food, livelihood and cultural security for these communities, as well as protecting them from eviction. Across indias forest areas, people are fighting for democracy, livelihood and dignity. The scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers recognition of forest rights act, 2006 is a result of the protracted struggle by the marginal and tribal communities of our country to assert their rights over the forestland over which they were traditionally dependent. As per provision of the forest rights act, tribal welfare department is the nodal department for implementation of the various provisions of the forest rights act. The political economy of environmental questions shankar gopalakrishnan academia. The scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers recognition of forest rights act was enacted on december 29, 2006, and thereafter amended in 2012.
Act, forest rights act or just fra hereafter, enacted by the indian parliament in 2006, did not emerge from unproblematic and consensual deliberations. An act to provide for the establishment of an effective system for protection of plant varieties, the rights of farmers and plant breeders and to encourage the. Rather the struggle to pass the act, and to keep the key elements intact, was fraught with intense contestation. The act was created to reverse the erosion of their traditional rights by forestry policies, encroachment on their lands by.
A study on implementation status of forest right act, 2006 at the national and state levels and its recommendations keywords. The members of the community of st who primarily reside in and who depend on forests or forest lands for bonafide livelihood. Title rights ownership to land that is being farmed by tribals or forest dwellers subject to a maximum of 4 hectares. It aims to recognise and protect the rights of forestdwelling scheduled tribes and other traditional. Ministry of environment, forest and climate change. Wild life protection act, forest conservation act, forest. Rights act, or the forest rights act fra was enacted in 2006, it was hailed by many as an emancipatory law which upheld the rights and entitlements of the marginalized communities. Dwellers recognition of forest rights act, 2006 no. Popularly known as the forest rights act fra, the scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers recognition of forest rights act was passed in 2006. However, due to lack of political will and apathy of the bureaucracy, the implementation of the act is suffering.
The forest rights act recognizes and vests forest rights in the scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers who have been residing in forests for. The schedule tribes and other traditional forest dwellers recognition of forest rights act, 2006fra was enacted keeping in view the main objective that tribal. An act to recognise and vest the forest rights and occupation in forest land in forest dwelling. It has also been called the forest rights act, the tribal rights act, the tribal bill, and the tribal land act. The act aims to provide a framework which recognizes and vests forest rights in forestdwelling.