Forest Act 2006 NOV 2020 Today Lecture

DR.
ARVIND NATH TRIPATHI

LAW FACULTY,DSNLU
09/28/2022 1
Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006
• The Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006 has been the most progressive
and path-breaking legislation in the history of forest governance in
India. It potentially seeks to transform the structure and nature of
forest governance by allowing legal recognition of variety of pre-
existing rights of Scheduled Tribes and other sections who have
been traditionally depending on forests for sustaining their life and
livelihoods. The types of rights recognized by FRA include
individual rights over land, communal rights over forest and forest
produce, habitat rights of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups
(PTGs) and seasonal rights of pastoralist and nomadic tribes.
Importantly, local Gram Sabhas are empowered under the law for
initiating and facilitating the rights recognition process.
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• World over, the territories of indigenous people overlap with the rich
bio-diverse areas. Their identity, traditional practices, customary laws,
and livelihood are tightly inter-linked to their land and natural resources.
Protection and management of natural resources ensure their survival,
physically as well as culturally. These forest and nature-dependent
communities are increasingly coming in conflict with their respective
governments and powerful corporations due to the rise in urbanization,
changing economic factors, and push for mega projects across the globe,
thereby making it more difficult for them to secure their basic rights
and access to land and natural resources. Similar to the global trend, the
rights of tribal and other forest-dwelling communities in India, who
constitute eight per cent (2011 Census) of the country’s population, are
also being expropriated leaving them further marginalized.
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• When the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest
Dwellers’ (Recognition of 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. By recognizing
the rights of communities over forests and natural resources,
which they have traditionally accessed, and by giving them
the right to manage, use, protect, and conserve their
habitat/forests, FRA had the potential to radically transform
the governance and conservation of forests by shifting the
control from the states to the communities.
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• The forest department was set up by the British Government in the year
1864 and it remains the greatest landlord in the country with about 23% of
land in India being designated as forest land. The appropriation of
forestlands by the State has remained one of the biggest reasons leading to
the historical exploitation and deprivation of forest dwelling communities.
The Indian Government's initiative in the 1970s to introduce the
Conservation of Forests and Natural Ecosystems Bill failed and the Bill
lapsed pushing consolidated forest legislation into ignored areas of
legislative business. The Indian Forests Act 1927 continued to be the
applicable legislation supplemented by the Forest Conservation Act of
1980 which further riddled the status of forest dwelling communities. The
said Acts did not recognize the rights of the forest dwelling communities
in the forestland and declared encroachment into protected forests as a
punishable offence.
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• The government overhauled its forest policy in the beginning of the
millennium and the most important sigh of relief came in the form of the
Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of
Forest Rights Act) 2006 (hereinafter referred to as "the Forest Rights Act")
which recognizes the pre-existing customary rights of the forest dwellers
whether as individuals or as a group in the forest land. The Forest Rights
Act seeks to recognize the rights of over 200 million people in
forestlands who were disfranchised during the colonial era. The Forest
Rights Act met with mixed reactions from various interested groups.
While the groups vouching for tribal rights acclaimed the scheme of the
legislation, it met with a great dissent from the forest bureaucracy and
the conservationists who believed that the surrender of control of the
forests over to the tribal communities is hazardous to the natural
resources and forests of the country.
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• The Preamble of the Forest Rights Act recognizes the rights of the forest
dwelling communities in the forestlands. It seeks to vest the property
over such land in the communities inhabiting the land. The Preamble of
the Forest Rights Act also recognizes that the rights of these communities
have not been recorded thereby contemplating that the proof of
possession may have to be other than documentary evidence. The Forest
Rights Act not only recognizes the right of the communities to gain title
over their land but also radically changes the forest policy of the country
by vesting the authority and control of conservation of these forests and
its resources in the communities. The authority to conserve the forests
and its resources seeks to harmonize the concerns of the conservationists
with those of the tribals. However, the Act has not been well received by
the conservationists who fear the overexploitation of forests by the tribes.
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• While competing interests of tribal communities and conservationists
hauled the debate until lately, there is a growing concern parallel to the
debate around the overall efficacy of the Act in delivering the tribal
communities and their rights in land. These concerns arise from the
mechanisms employed by the Act in determining these rights and
vesting the same in the communities. Also, there has been a strong
jurisprudential critique, which raises questions challenging the
conceptualization of welfare for the tribal communities via the medium
of the Act. The third source of the critique comes from the poor
implementation of the Act and the lack of willingness on the part of
State Governments in implementation of the Act, resulting in the
overall poor delivery of results. Last, but not the least, various activists
and jurists have found the Act to be necessary but not sufficient.
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• Objectives of the Act
• The objectives of the Forest Rights Act are laid out in the Preamble of the Act and seem
ambitious considering the scenario in which the Act was passed. Some of the other
objectives of the Act, which can be deduced from the Preamble of the Act, are:
• To provide the Scheduled Tribes and other forest dwellers the right and responsibility for
sustainable use, conservation of biodiversity and maintenance of ecological balance.
• Strengthen the conservation regime of forestlands by making the forest dwellers a part of
the decision making process.
• Ensuring the livelihood and food security of the forest dwellers.
• To undo the historical injustice meted out to the forest dwellers by recognizing their right to
their ancestral land.
• To recognize that forest dwellers are fundamental to the sustainability of the forest
ecosystem.
• To address the insecurity of possession and access rights of forest dwellers including those
who were forced away from their homeland due to developmental projects sanctioned by
the State.
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• The objectives set forth are historic in the sense that not only do they
recognize for the first time the rights of forest dwellers, but also that
the Preamble of the Act recognizes the short-comings of the
Government in denying the forest dwellers their rights for so many
decades. Thus, the Act sees the forest jurisprudence in India moving
away from the unjust framework laid down by the British. The
Forest Rights Act seeks to link the rights provided to the forest
dwellers under the Act with the authority for conservation and
sustainable use, using this as an opportunity to further enhance the
forest conservation regime. The Forest Rights Act does this without
compromising on the livelihood and food security of the forest
dwellers and thus, the Act provides a platform for democratic
decentralization of forest governance in the country.
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• Salient Features of the Act
• The Forest Rights Act was enacted to bring about two
major reforms:
• Grant legal recognition to the rights of traditional forest
dwellers, in an attempt to correct injustice caused by
the forest laws prior to the Forest Rights Act; and
• Taking the first step towards giving forest dwellers and
the public some authority and power in forest
management and wildlife conservation.
•
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• Eligibility
• Like any other welfare legislation in India, the most important aspect of the Act
remains identification of the beneficiaries or the persons entitled to the rights
provided under the said legislation. There are two qualifications a person, which
are to be fulfilled in order to be eligible to be granted rights under the Act.
• The first qualification has two conditions:
• Primarily residing in forests or forest lands; and
• Dependent on forests and forestland for his/her livelihood ("bona fide livelihood
needs").
• To prove the aforesaid conditions, a person must not only have a place of
residence within the forest premises or in a forest village but also in occupation
of a place for cultivation, grazing purposes etc. Also, bona fide livelihood would
imply non-commercial profit, through the sale of crops or minor forest produce
or income from water bodies, for survival.
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• The second qualification runs thus:
• To be declared as "Forest Dwelling Scheduled Tribe" (a) that you are a
member of a Scheduled Tribe; or (b) that you are residing in an area
where they are Scheduled and
• To be as declared as "Other Traditional Forest Dweller" - that the
conditions mentioned above have been fulfilled for a minimum period
of 75 years (3 generations) as of the 13th day of December 2005.
• Being a member of the Scheduled Tribes community automatically
qualifies an individual for the benefits arising under the Act. However,
any other person who is not a member of any of the Scheduled Tribes
can also be eligible under the Act if the person's forefathers have
resided in forests for 75 years.
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• Rights
• Section 3 of the Forest Rights Act is the principal section,
which recognizes four principal forms of rights, viz., land rights
or ownership rights, community rights and user rights,
management and conservation rights, and finally traditional
and customary rights. While the first type of rights is individual
in nature, the other two types of rights are communal rights,
which are held by the community as a whole and exercised
through the common, will of the community expressed
through the Panchayats constituted under the Panchayat
Extension to Scheduled Areas Act of 1994.
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• Land Rights
• Land rights under the Act are available only if the person claiming
such right satisfies the eligibility criteria laid out under the Act. No
land right can be granted under the Act unless the person was
cultivating the land as on December 13, 2005.The Act further
requires that the land under cultivation by the claimant must be for
personal cultivation by the claimant. However, the Act covers
lands under dispute between the claimants and the forest
department whereby such disputed land can be then transferred
in favour of the claimant if the eligibility criteria are met.The Act
provides a ceiling limit of four hectares and the land under
cultivation up to four hectares can be granted under the Act.
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• User rights
• User rights are the rights, which have been traditionally exercised by the communities
over forest resources such as drinking water, collection of minor forest produce, grazing
grounds, medicinal herbs etc. These rights are communal in nature and can be exercised
by all members of the community equally. The Act also provides for customary habitat
rights for primitive tribal groups who lead a nomadic lifestyle characterized by shifting
cultivation. The primitive tribal groups have been given a special status to exercise their
rights in reserved and protected forests also. The primitive tribal groups have historically
remained most marginalized even among the tribal communities and have been victims
of private usurpation of their resources by private forces.
• The Act also converts all forest villages into revenue villages thereby bringing these
villages outside the jurisdiction of the forest department and allowing the state to
grant Pattas and other titles as per the system. This conversion also ensures the delivery
of Government facilities and developmental activity benefits to these communities,
which were otherwise excluded by virtue of being under the jurisdiction of the forest
department.
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• Management and Conservation Rights
• The Act vests the communities with the right to conserve and
manage forest resources. This right has been lauded to be the
most powerful right among the other rights within the Act, which
reinvests the control of the forests in the communities who have
been historically deprived of this right. This right is exercisable by
the panchayats constituted under the Panchayat Extension to
Scheduled Areas Act. Section 3(1)(j) provides for the saving of
the rights recognized by any state laws and autonomous district
councils in the north eastern states through the operation of
Schedule-V of the Constitution of India.
•
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• Traditional and Customary Rights
• The Act finally recognizes the right of the communities over bio-diversity,
traditional knowledge and intellectual property of the community, which
has been enshrined in customs, and traditions of the community. Section
3(1) (l) recognizes other rights customarily exercised by the communities
over the bio-diversity in their habitat. However, the section expressly
excludes any hunting or poaching activities, which may have been
customarily undertaken by the community.
• The Act recognizes a whole universe of rights, which the communities were
historically deprived of, and reinvests the same with the communities upon
the proof of existence of the rights. The rules provide for a diluted regime
of evidence production for the establishment of these rights making the
Act an important and landmark legislation towards tribal welfare in the
country.
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• Critique of the Forest Rights Act
• The Act marks a turning point in the history of tribal rights in
India. However, it faces a few very strong challenges. The most
recurrent criticism against the Act has been the criteria for the
identification for forest dwelling communities. The Joint
Committee on Schedule Tribe presented its Report to the
Parliament in the year 2005. The Committee recognized the fact
that the criteria of schedule tribes was only a post-
constitutional concept and therefore subscribing to it as the
sole criteria could present problems for communities which
have been dwelling in forests and have not been identified as a
scheduled tribe.
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• Legislative Challenges
• The Act restricts its primary application to schedule tribes only.
Schedule tribes are recognized on a geographical basis thereby
negating rights to non-schedule tribes in a particular state and
those tribes, which are, Scheduled Tribes in one state but not
recognized as scheduled tribes in another state. Further, the
definition of other forest dwelling communities' sets impractical
criteria for the identification of other forest dwellers. Under
the definition any person or community not being a schedule
tribe has to prove occupation over the forest area for at least 3
generation preceding December 2005. Each generation is
defined as 25 years thereby requiring the communities to
present the proof of possession for more than 75 years.
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• The provision was basically drafted following the strong resistance from the
Ministry of Tribal Affairs. The ministry feared that setting up a shorter period
as criteria would dilute the Act and allow non-tribals to claim ownership over
the land under the Act. The provision sets stricter criteria over the Ministry of
Environment and Forests, which required proving occupation since the year
1980 to crystallize forestland rights.However, the provision presents us with
various difficulties as there are no land records or forest records which would
present the case for the communities leaving oral evidence in the form of
narratives and testimonies which are not reliable before the court. The Act
provides for the vesting of community forest rights with the village assemblies
established under the Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas Act 1994. The
Act failed to recognize the failure of PESA. The Panchayats Extension to
Scheduled Areas Act also provided for community forest rights vesting in
the Gram Sabhas however the provision was never implemented by the states.
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• The Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas Act introduces
the Panchayati system, which is alien to many communities
who prefer to stick to a more traditional and often
decentralized system.Also, the Panchayats Extension to
Scheduled Areas Act has assemblies' membership from the
non-tribal communities who may interfere with the
administration of tribal resources falling within their
jurisdiction, which has been conveniently overlooked by the
Act. The tribal population in a Gram Panchayat in the
Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas Act is limited to
50% thereby leaving substantial opportunity for the non-
tribal communities to exploit the community forest rights.
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• The Act waters down the recognition provided under the 1980
Ministry of Environmental and Forest's circular. The Act provides
for two kinds of rights- rights to land and the rights over forests
and forest produce. The individuals or the communities can
claim the former. The Act favours the ST tribals over the non-ST
tribals and it limits the extent of land to four hectares per family
unlike in the 1990 guidelines, which do not provide for any such
limitation. Alongside, the implementation of Act has seen
serious defects as most states only recognize the rights on land
and ignore the rights allowed over forests and forest produce.
The reading of the Forest Rights Act has been limited only to the
first category of rights and the little awareness among the
departments and the communities has brought down the overall
efficacy of the Act.
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• The Act does not allow the tribal communities and persons in
whom the rights vest, to have any power of alienation or transfer
of the property. Section 4(4) of the Act states that the rights under
the Act are inheritable but not alienable or transferable, however,
the Act denies any opportunity to the tribals to create any charge
or mortgage on the property even in cases of economic hardships
or in cases of movement and resettlement. It must also be
remembered that the rights under the Act are subject to the
eminent domain power of the state thereby diluting the essence
of the rights. Therefore, in light of the new Land Acquisition Act
2013 there is a hope of relief inasmuch the statute requires an
overwhelming consent from the community.
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• The Act further includes that Section 4(3) only allows
persons under occupation of the land to make a claim
under the Act. If a certain person is not under the
occupation of land at the time when the Act came into
force, he / she cannot make a claim under the Act.
Therefore, the Act does not address the historical
injustices, which may have occurred immediately before
the enactment of the Act leading to the dispossession of
land from certain persons. Also, given the fact that most
tribes follow shifting cultivation wherein it is difficult to
establish title on the basis of actual possession.
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• Types of rights under this act:
• Community Rights or rights over common property resources of the
communities in addition to their individual rights
• Rights in and over disputed land Rights of settlement and conversion
of all forest villages, old habitation and un-surveyed villages
• Right to protect any community forest resource which the
communities have been traditionally protecting for sustainable use
• Right to intellectual property related to biodiversity and cultural
diversity
• Rights of displaced communities
• Rights over developmental activities
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• Different Authorities Created Under FRA act:
• Gram Sabha
• Forest Rights Committee
• Sub Divisional Level committee
• District Level Committee
• State Level Monitoring Committee
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• Background:
• Snapshot of History of centralized control of forests in India:
• Indian Forest Act of 1865: Empowered the colonial government to declare any forest
land as government forest.
• Indian Forest Act of 1878: Classified forests into ‘protected forests’, ‘reserved forests’
and village forests’.
• The National Forest Policy of 1894: Re-iterated the regulation of rights and restriction
of privileges of users in forest areas for the public good.
• The Land Acquisition Act of 1894: Permits compulsory acquisition of land for a ‘public
purpose’.
• Indian Forest Act, 1927: replaced the earlier 1878 Act with the aim of consolidating
the law relating to forests, transit of forest produce and duty leviable on timber and
other forest produce.
• The Government of India Act 1935: Consolidated the power of the state on forests so
as to meet the requirements of the British industry, military and commerce.
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• National Forest Policy of 1952: Converted certain concessions enjoyed by tribals
for long by withdrawing the release of forest land for cultivation, controlling free
grazing, encouraging tribals to do away with the practice of shifting cultivation.
• National Commission on Agriculture (NCA) 1976: Recommended that forests be
managed efficiently for commercial purposes, though the it became silent about
the traditional rights of tribals.
• 42nd Amendment of the Indian Constitution: The Government of India deleted
forests from the State list and entered it under the concurrent list in 1976.
• Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 and the Forest (Conservation) Act 1980: Identified
environmental protection and recognition of the rights of the tribal communities
as mutually incompatible objectives.
• The National Forest Policy 1988: Focuses on environmental stability through the
preservation of forests by replacing contractors by tribal co-operatives, gave
concession to ethnic minorities and provided suitable alternatives for shifting
cultivators.
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• Why the Forest Right Act was enacted?

• India’s forests are governed by two main laws, the Indian Forest Act,
1927 and the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
• Procedure for settlement of rights was provided under the Indian Forest
Act, 1927 which were hardly followed resulting in insecurities of tribal
and forest-dwelling communities.
• Under the Indian Forest Act, areas were often declared to be
government forests without noticing any relationship between tribal and
land such as who lived in these areas, what land they were using etc.
• Under these laws, the rights of people living in the area to be declared as
a forest area are to be settled by a forest settlement officer.
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• This requires an officer to enquire into the claims of people to
land, minor forest produce, etc., and in the case of claims
found to be valid, to allow them to continue or to extinguish
them by paying compensation.
• It is found that in many areas this process either did not take
place at all or took place in a highly faulty manner. Those
whose rights are not recorded during the settlement process
are susceptible to eviction at any time.
• Hence Forest Rights Act, 2006 was enacted to protect the
marginalised socio-economic class of citizens and balance the
right to environment with their right to life and livelihood.
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• Eligibility under this act:
• There are two ways to be eligible under this act
• Primarily residing in forests or forest lands.
• Depends on forests and forest land for a livelihood.
• Above conditions should have to be true for 75
years.
• OR
• Should be a member of a Scheduled Tribe
• Resident of an area where they are Scheduled
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• Challenges in Implementing FRA act 2006:
• Lack of Political will:
• There is no political will to implement this act
as assertion of power of forest dwelling
communities is in direct conflict with the
agenda of ease of doing business. It also
challenges the power and authority of the
Forest Department.
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• Systemic issues
• There is lack of coordination between the tribal, revenue and
forest department on implementation of the Act.
• Moreover, there is lack of recognition of Community Forest
Resource rights. There is a huge resistance from the forest
department to recognize CFR Rights and sharing of power with
Gram Sabha for conservation and management of forest
resources.
• The Government approach towards forest is clearly reflected in
the recently developed draft forest policy which is heavily tilted
towards forest commercialisation, PPP model and forest
dwellers have no place in decision making.
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• Functional/implementation barriers:
• A large number of claims are being rejected; pending
or limited rights are recognized. The area recognized
has been drastically reduced from the area, which
has been claimed without any proper reasons.
• Ministry of Tribal Affairs has written to State
Governments that in case of rejection, reasons have
to be communicated and chances of appeal to be
given to claimants, which is hardly happening.
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• Why this act is debated often?
• Number of rejection rate of claim under the FRA act
• One reason the Act receives so much attention is due to the rejection rate of the
claims. Approvals and rejections are the result of decisions taken by the three-tier
scrutiny committees constituted at the levels of village, taluk and district level.
• Different Views
• A consensus was never arrived between the different stakeholders during FRA,
2006 enactment.
• The different views were mainly of the rights-based activists and NGOs arguing for
the rights of the tribals against the views of conservationists whose voice was in
tune with that of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, wildlife activists and
like-minded NGOs.
• The opposition was mainly on grounds of the inevitable destruction of forest cover
and wildlife if the recognition of rights were extended on forest lands.
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• Disagreement of Forest Department on FRA act:
• The Indian Forest Department, an important stakeholder, is not in
agreement in principle on major issues of FRA act.
• The Forest Department perceives the cut-off date to make land claims,
which was extended to December 13, 2005, as a violation of Forest
Conservation Act (FCA), 1980 despite a clear clause in the FRA about
superseding all existing laws.
• The Forest Department contends that the initial draft of the legislation had a
provision of 2.5 hectares as the maximum forest land that can be claimed for
a nuclear family, however, the four hectares was finally declared in the Act.
• Moreover, Forest Department sees inclusion of wildlife sanctuaries or parks
and inclusion of ‘other forest dwellers’ as eligible for claiming the land as
late entries into the act lacking legitimacy.
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• Does FRA act implemented as it was intended?
• Following the Act, three scenarios have emerged.
• Regions within states where the implementation process, including the
grant of rights, has been completed happened only in the initial period
of enactment of this act.
• The areas where implementation process has not taken place at all (like
pockets of Chhattisgarh, where insurgency is the excuse)
• The process has been initiated but is not able to reach the final stages
of awarding the rights mostly in areas where a majority of the claims:
(1) have evidence of occupation of forest land after October 25, 1980;
(2) have a demand of more than 2.5 hectares of forest land per nuclear
family; (3) were in wildlife sanctuaries or parks; and (4) are made by the
‘other forest dwellers.’
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• Efforts done to amend Indian Forest Act (IFA), 1927:
• In 2015, TSR Subramanian Committee suggested changes in India’s
forest governance recommending to amend IFA, 1927. Earlier, the M B
Shah Commission too suggested amendments in 2010.
• In, 2016, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
constituted a committee compromising principal chief conservators of
forests of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Manipur.
• However, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) was not included.
Moreover, there was no one representing forest dwelling
communities. The committee did not even share the draft amendment
with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology,
Environment & Forests.
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• Rejections of the claim as forest-dwellers
• In the past decade, tribal communities across India have filed
nearly 4.21 million claims to acquire forest land using FRA.
• Till now, only 1.74 million of the total 4.21 million land right claims
have been approved. Of this, only around 79,000 claims have been
recognised under community forest rights.
• In February 2019, Supreme Court ordered the eviction of the
Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers
(OTFDs) categories across 16 States, whose claim as forest-
dwellers has been rejected under the Forest Rights Act.
• However, due to intense opposition, the government put stay on
this order in April 2019.
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Institutional Mechanisms: Role and
Functions
• Gram Sabha
• Gram Sabha is the authority to initiate the process for
determining the nature and extent of individual or community
forest rights or both that may be given to the forest dwelling
Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers within
the local limits of its jurisdiction under this Act by receiving
claims, consolidating and verifying them and preparing a map
delineating the area of each recommended claim in such
manner as may be prescribed for exercise of such rights and the
Gram Sabha shall, then, pass a resolution to that effect and
thereafter forward a copy of the same to the Sub-Divisional
Level Committee.
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Functions
• GRAM SABHA
• (1) The Gram Sabhas shall be convened by the Gram Panchayat and
in its first meeting it shall elect from amongst its members, a
committee of not less than ten but not exceeding fifteen persons
as members of the Forest Rights Committee, wherein at least two-
third members shall be the Scheduled Tribes:
• Provided that not less than one-third of such members shall be
women;
• Provided further that where there are no Scheduled Tribes, at least
one third of such members shall be women.
• (2) The Forest Rights Committee shall decide on a chairperson and
a secretary and intimate it to the Sub-Divisional Level Committee.
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Functions
• (3) When a member of the Forest Rights Committee is
also a claimant of individual forest right, he shall
inform the Committee and shall not participate in the
verification proceedings when his claim is considered.
• (4) The Forest Rights Committee shall not reopen the
forest rights recognized or the process of verification of
the claims already initiated before the date of coming
into force of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional
Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights)
Amendments Rules, 2012.]
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Functions
• Functions of the Gram Sabha:
• (1) The Gram Sabha shall -
• (a) initiate the process of determining the nature and extent
of forest rights, receive and hear the claims relating thereto;
• (b) prepare a list of claimants of forests rights and maintain
a register containing such details of claimants and their
claims as the Central Government may by order determine;
• (c) pass a resolution on claims on forest rights after giving
reasonable opportunity to interested persons and
authorities concerned and forward the same to the Sub-
Divisional Level Committee;
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Functions
• (d) Consider resettlement packages under clause (e) of sub section (2)
of section 4 of the Act and pass appropriate resolutions; and
• (e) Constitute Committees for the protection of wildlife, forest and
biodiversity, from amongst its members, in order to carry out the
provisions of section 5 of the Act.
• (f) monitor and control the committee constituted under clause (e)
which shall prepare a conservation and management plan for
community forest resources in order to sustainably and equitably
manage such community forest resources for the benefit of forest
dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers and
integrate such conservation and management plan with the micro plans
or working plans or management plans of the forest department with
such modifications as may be considered necessary by the committee.]
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Functions
• (g) approve all decisions of the committee pertaining to issue of
transit permits, use of income from sale of produce, or
modification of management plans.
• (2) The quorum of the Gram Sabha meeting shall be not less than
one-half of all members of such Gram Sabha:
• Provided that at least one-third of the members present shall be
women;
Provided further that where any resolutions in respect of claims to
forest rights are to be passed, at least fifty per cent of the
claimants to forest rights or their representatives shall be present;
• Provided also that such resolutions shall be passed by a simple
majority of those present and voting.
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Institutional Mechanisms: Role and Functions
• Sub-Divisional Level Committee
• The Sub-Divisional Level Committee is constituted by the State
government with the following members:
• a. Sub-Divisional Officer or equivalent officer - Chairperson;
• b. Forest Officer in charge of a Sub-division or equivalent officer -
member;
• c. Three members of the Block or Tehsil level Panchayats to be
nominated by the District Panchayat of whom at least two shall be the
Scheduled Tribes preferably those who are forest dwellers, or who belong
to the primitive tribal groups and where there are no Scheduled Tribes,
two members who are preferably other traditional forest dwellers, and
one shall be a woman member; or in areas covered under the Sixth
Schedule to the Constitution, three members nominated by the
Autonomous District Council or Regional Council or other appropriate
zonal level, of whom at least one shall be a woman member;
• d. An officer of the Tribal Welfare Department in-charge of the Sub-
division or where such officer is not available the officer in-charge of the
09/28/2022 47
Functions
• Functions of the Sub-Divisional Level Committee
• Raise awareness among forest dwellers about the objectives and procedures laid
down under the Act and in the rules ;
• 􀁹 Provide such information and records as has been asked by the Gram Sabha or the
FRC and to facilitate clarification of the same through an authorized officer, if required.
• 􀁹 Provide forest and revenue maps and electoral rolls to the Gram Sabha or the Forest
Rights
• Committee;
• 􀁹 Ensure that the Gram Sabha meetings are conducted in free, open and fair manner
with requisite quorum.
• 􀁹 Ensure easy and free availability of proforma of claims to the claimants as provided
in Annexure- (Forms A, B & C) of these rules;
• 􀁹 Collate all the resolutions of the concerned Gram Sabhas;
• 􀁹 Consolidate maps and details provided by the Gram Sabhas;
09/28/2022 48
Functions
• 􀁹 Examine the resolutions and the maps of the Gram
Sabhas to ascertain the veracity of the claims;
• 􀁹 Hear and adjudicate disputes between Gram Sabhas
on the nature and extent of any forest rights;
• 􀁹 Co-ordinate with other Sub-Divisional Level
Committees for inter su-b divisional claims ;
• 􀁹 Prepare block or tehsil-wise draft record of proposed
forest rights after reconciliation of government records;
• 􀁹 Forward the claims with the draft record of proposed
forest rights through the Sub-Divisional Officer to the
District Level Committee for final decision;
09/28/2022 49
Functions
• District Level Committee:
• The District Level Committee is constituted by the State Government with the following
members:
• 􀁹 District Collector or Deputy Commissioner - Chairperson;
• 􀁹 Concerned Divisional Forest Officer or concerned Deputy Conservator of Forest -
member;
• 􀁹 Three members of the district panchayat to be nominated by the district panchayat,
of whom at least two shall be the Scheduled Tribes preferably those who are forest
dwellers, or who belong to members of the primitive tribal groups, and where there are
no Scheduled Tribes, two members who are preferably other traditional forest dwellers,
and one shall be a woman member; or in areas covered under the Sixth Schedule to the
Constitution, three members nominated by the Autonomous District Council or
Regional Council of whom at least one shall be a woman member; and
• 􀁹 An officer of the Tribal Welfare Department in-charge of the district or where such
officer is not available, the officer in charge of the tribal affairs.
09/28/2022 50
Functions
• Functions of District Level Committee
• 􀁹 Examine whether all claims, especially those of primitive tribal
groups, pastoralists and nomadic tribes, have been addressed
keeping in mind the objectives of the Act;
• 􀁹 Consider and finally approve the claims and record of forest
rights prepared by the Sub-Divisional Level Committee;
• 􀁹 Co-ordinate with other districts regarding inter-district claims;
• 􀁹 Issue directions for incorporation of the forest rights in the
relevant government records including record of rights;
• 􀁹 Ensure publication of the record of forest rights as may be
finalized;
09/28/2022 51
Functions
• 􀁹 Ensure that a certified copy of the record of forest
rights and title under the Act, as specified in Annexures
II and III to these rules, is provided to the concerned
claimant and the Gram Sabha respectively ;
• 􀁹 Ensure that a certified copy of the record of the right to
community forest resource and title under the Act, as
specified in Annexure IV to these rules, is provided to the
concerned Gram Sabha or the community whose rights
over community forest resource have been recognized
under clause (i) of sub-section (1) of section 3
09/28/2022 52
Functions
• State Level Monitoring Committee:
• The State Level Monitoring Committee is constituted by the State Level Monitoring
Committee with
• the following members,
• a. Chief Secretary - Chairperson;
• b. Secretary, Revenue Department - member;
• c. Secretary, Tribal or Social Welfare Department - member;
• d. Secretary, Forest Department - member;
• e. Secretary, Panchayati Raj - member;
• f. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests - member;
• g. Three Scheduled Tribes member of the Tribes Advisory Council, to be nominated by
the Chairperson of the Tribes Advisory Council and where there is no Tribes Advisory
Council, three Scheduled Tribes members to be nominated by the State Government;
• h. Commissioner, Tribal Welfare or equivalent who shall be the Member- Secretary.
09/28/2022 53
Functions
• Functions of the State Level Monitoring Committee
• 􀁹 Devise criteria and indicators for monitoring the process of
recognition and vesting of forest rights;
• 􀁹 Monitor the process of recognition, verification and vesting of forest
rights in the State;
• 􀁹 Meet at least once in three months to monitor the process of
recognition, verification and vesting of forest rights, consider and
address the field level verification and vesting of forest rights, consider
and address the field level problems, and furnish a quarterly report in
the format appended as Annexure V to these rules, to the Central
Government on their assessment regarding the status of claims, the
compliance with the steps required under the Act, details of claims
approved, reasons for rejection, if any and the status of pending claims;
09/28/2022 54
Functions
• 􀁹 on receipt of a notice as mentioned in section 8
of the Act, take appropriate actions against the
concerned authorities under the Act;
• 􀁹 monitor resettlement under sub-section (2) of
section 4 of the Act;
• 􀁹 Specifically monitor compliance of the
provisions contained in clause (m) of sub-section
(1) of section 3 and sub-section (8) of section 4.
09/28/2022 55
• Why are there no cut-off dates with respect to the
implementation of the Forest Rights Act and closing the
processing of claims?
• The FRA is intended to recognise the rights of the country’s
poorest and most marginalised people. Such communities
frequently will not even become aware of the existence of this
legislation for long periods. Imposing a cut-off date would
amount to penalising them for the failure of the state
machinery to inform them of their rights.
• There are a number of States/UTs which are still at an early
stage of implementation, and there is still a long way to go. As
such, since the magnitude of work to be done for
implementation of FRA has to be assessed by the Gram Sabha,
it is the Gram Sabha which is in the best position to decide its56
09/28/2022
• Also, it is important to understand that cut-off dates are
relevant in the case of schemes for regularising fresh
encroachments. Since FRA is not a law relating to
regularisation of encroachments, but rather a law for
recognition and vesting of forest rights in genuine
claimants existing on the 13 December 2005, a cut-off
date, as such, is not required. Any fresh encroachment
that comes to the notice of the State forest
departments would be treated under the applicable
provisions of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 and other
State-level laws.
09/28/2022 57
• Can the District Collector delegate his power to sign
the title deeds to the Revenue Divisional Officer?
• As per Annexure II & III of the FR Rules, the titles for
forest land and community forest rights are to be
signed by the District Collector/Deputy Commissioner.
This power is in exercise of the functions of the
District Level Committee under Rule 8(h) of the FR
Rules, and therefore it cannot be delegated to the
Revenue Divisional Officer or any other official.
09/28/2022 58
• Can a committee other than the Forest Rights Committee and/or
comprising persons other than the members of the Gram Sabha be
formed for assisting the Gram Sabha in discharge of its functions
relating to recognition and vesting of forest rights under FRA?
• The FRA and FR Rules do not permit formation of any committee
other than the Forest Rights Committee and the Committee under
Rule 4(1)(e). Nor do they permit constitution of a committee
comprising persons other than the members of the Gram Sabha, for
assisting the Gram Sabha in discharge of its functions relating to
recognition and vesting of forest rights under the FRA. In fact, any
decision/action taken by such a committee would be void and have
no legal basis.
09/28/2022 59
• Can the decision of the Gram Sabha to reject or allow a claim
be revisited/re-opened?
• The decisions of the Gram Sabha and the Sub-Divisional Level
Committee are subject to appeal and therefore can be re-
considered at that stage. Where the SDLC or the DLC finds
that the decision of the Gram Sabha is incomplete, or prima
facie requires additional examination, it should remand the
claim back to the Gram Sabha for reconsideration instead of
modifying or rejecting it (see Rule 12A(6)). Where the SDLC
or DLC reject or modify the decision of the Gram Sabha, they
must provide detailed reasons for doing so (see Rule
12A(10)). Additionally, the FR Rules provide that claims
should not be rejected merely on technical or procedural
grounds (see proviso to Rule 12A(10)).
09/28/2022 60
• Other than that, the decisions of not only the Gram Sabha, but
also the SDLC and the DLC can be revisited where the claims have
been rejected on the ground of insufficient evidence. Taking into
account reports that in many parts of the country, claims were
being rejected on the ground of lack of evidence or incomplete
evidence, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs issued a Circular dt.
27.7.2015 (bearing F. No. 23011/18/2015-FRA) where it relied
upon Rule 6(b) of the FR Rules to urge the SDLCs to assist the
Gram Sabha by providing forest, revenue and geo-referenced
maps. On this basis, it has been stated that claims rejected on the
grounds of insufficient evidence or where prima facie additional
evidence is required should be re-examined.
09/28/2022 61
• Can an appeal be filed against the order of the DLC?
• Section 6(6) of FRA clearly states that the decision of the DLC is
final and binding. Therefore, the statutory process of appeal ends
with the DLC.
• However, it is also necessary that reasons be supplied to the
claimant/s for rejection of application, so that they can take any
other legal recourse, such as, activating the writ jurisdiction of
the constitutional courts, or any other avenue available in law. If
the decision of the DLC is in contravention of any provision of the
FRA or Rules, proceedings under Section 8 can be initiated by the
Gram Sabha with due notice to the State Level Monitoring
Committee.
09/28/2022 62
• Which is the competent authority for implementation of
the Forest Rights Act, 2006 in specially administered
areas, such as the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration
area?
The FRA and FR Rules clearly prescribe the membership
of the SDLC and the DLC in areas governed by Panchayati
Raj legislations and in Sixth Schedule areas. However,
there are some areas which are governed by neither, and
therefore a question has arisen regarding the constitution
of the Gram Sabha, the SDLC and DLC in such areas.
09/28/2022 63
• In the context of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) Area, which
is governed by the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Act 2011 and the
West Bengal Panchayat Act, 1973 (hereafter “1973 Act”), the Ministry issued
a clarification on 8.10.2015 bearing F. No. 23011/11/2013-FRA. The Ministry
pointed out that the definition of ‘mouza’ under
• Section 2(13) of the 1973 Act, where the same is described as “an area
defined, surveyed and recorded as such in the revenue record of a
district…..as the lowest unit of area for the purpose of the public notification
for specifying a village”, closely mirrors the definition of “Gram Sabha” under
Section 2 (g) of the FRA. The same definition can be adopted to constitute
Gram Sabha which in turn will initiate the process of recognition and vesting
of forest rights under Section 6 of the FRA, and constitute the Forest Rights
Committee from amongst its members for this purpose.
09/28/2022 64
• In many such areas, which are in a transitional stage of
governance, there are no elected Panchayat bodies for a variety
of reasons. In such a situation, for the purpose of constitution of
SDLCs and DLCs under Rule 5(c) and Rule 7(c) of the FR Rules,
the three members of Block/Tehsil level Panchayat and three
members of District Panchayat may be substituted by the
elected representatives of the GTA or similar body. The first
meeting of the Gram Sabha for the constitution of Forest Rights
Committee (FRC) under Rule 3(1) of the FR Rules can also be
called by the GTA or similar body.
• Thereafter the process as laid down under Forest Rights Act,
2006, the FR Rules and the various guidelines issued by this
Ministry from time to time may be followed for the recognition
and vesting of forest rights.
09/28/2022 65
• What are the areas to which FRA applies? Is it mandatory to extend the
application of FRA to the entire State or can the same can be restricted to
specified areas?
• It is clearly stated in Section 1(2) of the FRA that it extends to the whole of India
except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Section 3(1) describes the various forest
rights which are recognised and vested under the FRA “on all forest lands”.
• It has been held by the Supreme Court in a landmark judgment in the
Godavarman case that “(t)he term “forest land” occurring in Section 2 (of the
Forest Conservation Act, 1980) will not only include “forest” as understood in the
dictionary sense, but also any area recorded as forest in the Government record
irrespective of the ownership.” Since then, it is settled law that the term ‘forest
land’ is to be widely understood for the purpose of implementation of protective
legislations on conservation and protection of forests and forest resources.
09/28/2022 66
• The FRA under Section 2(d) defines the term ‘forest land’ as land of
any description falling within any forest area, and including
unclassified forests, undemarcated forests, existing or deemed
forests, protected forests, reserved forests, Sanctuaries and
National Parks. This definition is in strict compliance with the
Supreme Court judgment as stated above.
• This definition of forest lands, accordingly, includes such lands as
have been included within the purview of the Indian Forest Act,
1927 by reason of being wastelands (see notification dt. 25.2.1952
bearing No. Ft. 29-241-BB/49), or under the provisions of the HP
Village Common Lands Vesting and Utilisation Act, 1974 and Rules
framed thereunder (see Section 8(1)(a) and Rule 6(1)(6)).
09/28/2022 67
• Is FRA applicable in National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries and Tiger
Reserves?
• Yes, FRA is applicable in National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, and
Tiger Reserves, as is apparent from the definition of ‘forest land’
under Section 2 (d) which describes forest land as “land of any
description falling within any forest area and includes……
Sanctuaries and National Parks”.
• FRA only recognises pre-existing rights which are already being
exercised by the eligible persons in the National Parks and
Sanctuaries. Other than securing the tenure of the existing forest
dwellers on the land, no new rights are being created which might
potentially impact the ecological balance inside the protected areas.
09/28/2022 68
• What is the criteria and evidence required for a Forest Dwelling
Scheduled Tribe (FDST) to claim rights under FRA?
• According to Section 2(c) of FRA, to qualify as FDST and be eligible
for recognition of rights under FRA, three conditions must be
satisfied by the applicant/s, who could be “members or
community”:
• 1. Must be a Scheduled Tribe in the area where the right is
claimed; and
• 2. Primarily resided in forest or forests land prior to 13-12-2005;
and
• 3. Depend on the forest or forests land for bonafide livelihood
needs.
09/28/2022 69
• Can persons belonging to Scheduled Tribes who have moved to non-Scheduled
Areas in the State claim forest rights as forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes?
• To claim forest rights as a FDST, the FRA requires that the claimant should be a
Scheduled Tribe in the relevant area. In some States, a person’s Scheduled Tribe
status is restricted to a particular area or District within the State. However, in
other States, as per the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950, the
Scheduled Tribes are recognised as such for the entire State, and not just to the
area of their domicile or the Scheduled Area or any other geographical location.
• For example, in the State of Himachal Pradesh, members of the Scheduled Tribes
from Lahul and Spiti (which is a Scheduled Area) who may have moved to Manali
(which is a non-Scheduled Area) of District Kullu, continue nevertheless to remain
Scheduled Tribes under the 1950 Presidential Order (supra) and are not divested
of such status merely due to a change in their domicile within the State.
09/28/2022 70
• What is the criteria and evidence required for an Other
Traditional Forest Dweller (OTFD) to claim rights under FRA?
• To qualify as OTFD and be eligible for recognition of rights under
FRA, two conditions need to be fulfilled:
• 1. Primarily resided in forest or forests land for three generations
(75 years) prior to 13-12-2005, and
• 2. Depend on the forest or forests land for bonafide livelihood
needs.
• Note also that Section 2(o) refers to “any member or community”
for this purpose, and hence if an OTFD village establishes its
eligibility under the Act, there is no need for every individual to do
so separately.
09/28/2022 71
• What is the documentary evidence required for establishing eligibility
by OTFDs under FRA?
• Claims of OTFDs are being rejected by the States on the ground of lack
of evidence of occupation of land for three generations, which is not in
accordance with the law. It is incorrect to say that the FRA that requires
the occupation of forest land for three generations (seventy five years)
prior to December 13, 2005 for qualifying as OTFD under the Act.
• The requirement under Section 2(o) is that the “member or
community” should have “primarily resided in” forest land for at least
three generations prior to December 13, 2005, and depend on the
forest for their bonafide livelihood needs. Once this eligibility criteria is
satisfied, the vesting provision of the Act, namely Section 4, does not
differentiate between forest dwelling STs and OTFDs.
09/28/2022 72
• What is the meaning of the phrase “primarily resided in forests or forest land” with
regard to eligibility of OTFDs for recognition and vesting of forest rights under FRA?
• The phrase “primarily resided in forest or forest land” does not mean occupation.
Proof of residence in the forests for 75 years where claim has been filed and current
dependence on forest land will suffice for being considered as OTFD. It was clarified by
the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in Circular dated 9.06.2008 No.17014/02/2007-
PC&V(Vol.VII), that the phrase “primarily resided in” means:
• “such Scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers who are not necessarily
residing inside the forest but are depending on the forest for their bona fide livelihood
needs would be covered under th definition of ‘forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes’ and
‘other traditional forest dweller’ as given in Sections 2(c) and 2(o) of the Scheduled
Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.”
• It is important to state that it is not necessary that exercise of forest rights for 75
years without interruption be proved. This would be an extremely onerous burden of
proof on a claimant, and is not the intention of the law.
09/28/2022 73
• A number of forests in the country have been notified in the 1950s. How can
the OTFDs establish that they have been primarily residing in these forests
since three generations (75 years) when the forests themselves are only 50 or
60 years old?
• It is important to state that the date of notification, if any, of the forest is not a
relevant criteria for determining eligibility of OTFDs under FRA. On the contrary,
it is irrelevant, for the reason that the application of the FRA extends not only to
notified and classified forests, but also to all manner of forests within the
dictionary meaning, as defined by the Supreme Court. Admittedly, forests have
been in existence in the country for centuries, and well before any legal regime
for the protection of forests came into being.
• For the purpose of establishing their eligibility, OTFDs can rely upon and produce
two or more of any of the evidences listed in Rule 13 (including oral testimony
and physical evidence), and are not restricted only to Census of India data.
09/28/2022 74
• When calculating “75 years”, if the claimants (and their
ancestors) have resided in one village for the first 50
years, and then another village for 25 years, would both
periods be included for filing a claim?
• Section 2(o) of FRA does not require that the claimants
and their ancestors have to prove they lived in the same
village for 75 years. The requirement is that they should
be forest dwellers for 75 years. It is also important to
clarify that it is a particular forest dwelling community
which has to establish this fact, and it is not necessary that
every individual claimant has to prove it.
09/28/2022 75
• What is the meaning of “depend on the forest or forest lands for bonafide livelihood
needs” in Section 2(c) and (o) of FRA?
• The term “bonafide livelihood needs” has been explained clearly in Rule 2(1)(b) of the
FR Rules as follows:
• “b) “bona fide livelihood needs” means fulfillment of livelihood needs of self and family
through exercise of any of the rights specified in sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the Act
and includes sale of surplus produce arising out of exercise of such rights.”
• This definition clearly displaces the misconception that bonafide livelihood needs mean
mere survival.
• In fact, the entire FRA and FR Rules clearly recognise that forest dwelling communities
are not restricted to mere subsistence, but rather are entitled to a healthy standard of
living. In fact, a plain reading o Sections 2(c) and (o) show that the word “primarily”
qualifies “resided”, but there is no such qualification on the requirement “depend on
forest and forest lands”. Simply because a large proportion of the land in a State is
classified as “forest land” and a large percentage of the population is dependent on the
forests for bonafide livelihood needs, does not disqualify the applicants in any way.
09/28/2022 76
• Can a State Government provide that persons holding any permanent
or Government job shall not be eligible as Other Traditional Forest
Dwellers?
• There is no provision in the law that forest dwellers should be solely or
even primarily dependent on the forests for their livelihood, or for
disqualifying persons whose family income is derived from a basket of
sources. There is every likelihood that a family may be depending for its
livelihood needs both on the forest rights, as well as supplement their
family income through a Government job or salaried income. In fact,
there are many families where one or more adult member has a salaried
job requiring him to live in an urban area, while the other family
members reside in the village and are sustained through intricate and
sustainable relationships with the forests and forest produce.
09/28/2022 77
• Where one spouse works as a Government servant, while the rest of the
family resides in the village, is such family eligible for making a claim under
FRA?
• Many situations may arise where one spouse works as a Government servant
or in a salaried job, while the other spouse along with other members of the
family resides in the village. It would be contrary to the letter and spirit of FRA
to deny forest rights to such families, merely because one of the spouses has
seized such opportunity. It is for this reason that the FRA contains no statutory
bar on recognition of forest rights of such claimants, if they are able to satisfy
the other eligibility criteria.
• Nor does the FRA restrict the recognition of forest rights to ‘family’. A claimant
can be an individual, a family, a community, or a Gram Sabha. Just because one
member of the family is disqualified as a forest dweller, does not mean other
members who meet the eligibility criteria cannot claim their rights.
09/28/2022 78
• Which Gram Sabha/s are such pastoralist communities
required to file their claims?
• Claims can be filed before their own Gram Sabhas. If the
rights are exercised in forests traversing number of villages,
they should also file before all the Gram Sabhas through
which they traditionally have rights of passage and temporary
grazing. This can be done as a community through traditional
community institutions, or through individual members.
Correspondingly, according to Rule 12(1)(c) of the FR Rules,
the Forest Rights Committee has to ensure that the claims
from pastoralists and nomadic tribes for determination of
their rights are verified when such individuals, communities
or their representatives are present, and no decision on these
rights should be taken in their absence.
09/28/2022 79
• It is possible that claims of nomadic pastoralists
may be filed later by those who are residents of a
particular village. This is because such nomadic
communities are compelled to move from one
place to the next and therefore may not be
aware of the need to file such claims within a
time-frame. The Forest Rights Committee should
not refuse to entertain such claims merely on the
ground that they are delayed.
09/28/2022 80
• What is the meaning of ‘habitat’ in the context of forest
rights of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)?
• The FRA clearly lays down the definition of ‘habitat’ under
Section 2(h), and further describes the forest right to such
habitat under Section 3(1)(e). However, the Hindi
translation of the FRA, when translating the word ‘habitat’,
used the word ‘aawas’ which is commonly understood to
mean house or habitation. This created a lot of confusion
since many States wrongly equated the term ‘habitat’ to
mean providing housing facilities under schemes such as
the Indira Awas Yojana.
09/28/2022 81
• To dispel the confusion, the Ministry of Tribal
Affairs issued a clarification on 23.4.2015
bearing No. 23011/16/2015-FRA where it
stated that such interpretation is incorrect.
The right to community tenures of habitat and
habitation over customary territories used by
PVTGs include not only habitation, but also
social, economic, spiritual, sacred, religious
and other purposes.
09/28/2022 82
• In case of community forest resource, who will be the claimant to file
the community claim? In whose name(s) will the community rights
be vested?
• Rule 11(1)(a) and (4) read with Form-C of the FR Rules (as amended on
6.9.2012) lays down the procedure for filing, determination and
verification of community forest resource (CFR) claims by the Gram
Sabha. As is clear from the content of Form-C itself, while a list of the
members of the Gram Sabha is necessary to be attached, along with
the status of ST/OTFD against each member, signatures of all the
members of the Gram Sabha is not required. Requiring all the
signatures of all Gram Sabha members will make the process
effectively impossible to complete in many villages. What is necessary
is a resolution of the Gram Sabha in support of the said claim for CFR.
The title is issued in the name of the Gram Sabha which has registered
the claim, which is also clear from Annexure IV, the format for title to
CFRs.
09/28/2022 83
• What are the documentary evidences required in case of
CFR rights?
• CFR rights are related to usufruct right of the community
and there are a number of forest documents like working
plans, gazetteers, forest settlement reports and other
documents that show that the forest is right burdened and
is being used by people of those habitats. These documents
are sufficient proof of usage of forests by the forest
dwellers, in addition to oral evidence. Moreover, other
practices such as Joint Forest Management, traditional use,
community protection, etc. are also admissible as evidence.
09/28/2022 84
• Physical and oral evidence, among a host of other categories, is
also admissible under Rule 13 of the FR Rules (as amended on
6.9.2012). In fact, Rule 13(2) lists certain additional types of
evidence which can be relied upon for determination of CFR
rights, such as previous classification of current reserve forest as
protected forest or as gochar or other village common lands,
nistari forests, as well as previous or current practice of
traditional agriculture. Rule 12A(11) specifies that the SDLC/DLC
cannot insist on a particular evidence in support of the claim,
and this position of law has received the approval of the Gujarat
High Court also in a judgment. (Action Research in Community
Health & Development (ARCH) vs. State of Gujarat & Ors.,
Judgment dated 3.5.2013 in Writ Petition (PIL) No. 100/2011,
Gujarat High Court.)
09/28/2022 85
• It has been clarified by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs,
Government of India vide Circular dt. 28.4.2015
(bearing F. No. 23011/18/2015-FRA) that State
Governments should prepare a geo-referenced
database of maps, and make such maps available to
forest dwellers claiming CFR rights, so that genuine
claimants are not left out. Further detailed suggestions
on the use of GIS based technology, particularly with
regard to CFR rights, have been made vide Circular dt.
27.7.2015 (bearing No. 23011/18/2015-FRA).
09/28/2022 86
09/28/2022 87

Forest Act 2006 NOV 2020 Today Lecture

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DR.

ARVIND NATH TRIPATHI

• Why the Forest Right Act was enacted?

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