The key provisions introduced by Government of India (GoI) in the form of Forest Rights Act (FRA)[1] hold high hopes for forest peoples; however, the system has yet to overcome many hurdles to realise the true potential of FRA.
The recent pronouncements by the Indian Government over two controversial projects – Vedanta Resources and POSCO – present a mixed outcome of the existing complexities of putting a newer system in place. Archana Vaidya, a natural resource management and environment law consultant, dwells in detail upon the provisions of FRA, and how it can be implemented effectively.
What is Forest Rights Act (FRA)?
Forest Rights Act (FRA) is the first of its kind legislative attempt to undo a “historical injustice”, to use the oft repeated phrase. It is a much delayed legislation but a step in the right direction, which envisages recognition of customary rights of forest inhabiting and forest dependent schedule tribe (ST) and non-schedule tribe communities, long after legislations for the protection and conservation of wildlife, ecosystem, biodiversity and forests have been made.
The objective of the Act is to recognize and vest the forest rights and occupation in forest land of forest dwelling STs and other traditional forest dwellers (OTFD) who have been residing in such forests for generations but whose rights could not be recorded. This Act also provides for a framework for recording the forest rights so vested, and the nature of evidence required for such recognition and vesting in respect of the forest land.
FRA also envisages sustainable use of forest produce, conservation of biodiversity and maintenance of ecological balance for strengthening the conservation regime of the forests along with ensuring livelihood and food security of the forest dwelling STs and OTFDs. This indicates a very clear diversion from the previously practised exclusionist approach adopted for achieving conservation objectives. This hopefully signals the heralding of a new era in forest management, where people living in the forest and dependent upon it for their sustenance and livelihood are not considered a hindrance for conservation of biodiversity, ecological balance and wild life protection. This Act envisages and mandates a process in case of any conflict of interests between their livelihood needs and wildlife conservation, and accords due importance to the latter wherever necessary or situation so demands. For the first time, not only historical injustice to the forest dwelling STs and OTFDs has been acknowledged and recognised, but they also have been accepted and recognised as an integral part to the very survival and sustainability of the forest ecosystem.
By integrating the livelihood needs of forest inhabiting and forest dependent tribal and non tribal communities into overall forest management and governance strategies, and by making these peoples’ participation mandatory in forest management, this law brings in a much needed democratisation in the field of forest governance.
Generic Issues Being Faced as Hurdles in Implementation of FRA
FRA basically envisages a three-step process to recognise the rights of forest dwelling scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers who have been residing in such forests for generations.
It includes – initiation of claim, verification of claim, and vesting of right upon verification. The claim could be for individual forest right or for community forest rights.
For initiation of claim, the interested person needs to follow the procedure laid down and fill up the claim form and submit the same to the Forest Rights Committee (FRC)[2]. However, there needs to be a generic system in place which can be applied all over the country, with some amendments and adaptations as per specific needs of particular areas, to ensure that there is requisite awareness in such people who are entitled to make a claim. We have to keep in mind that by conferring rights under this Act, we intend to empower the most marginalised, impoverished, illiterate and vulnerable communities. This intended empowerment would be just a hollow promise if we don’t ensure that they are in the first place made aware of their rights and then properly guided, assisted and helped in initiating their claim. The government can use the state owned media and Public Relations Department for spreading awareness about this Act.
The Government should urgently update national level information on villages inside and adjacent to forests, through Forest Survey of India, and provide this to the States and the States should pro-actively facilitate Individual Forest Rights (IFR) and Community Forest Rights (CFRt) claims, which has also been recommended by the Saxena Committee[3] in its report. The States should also on its own have ready lists of all such areas in which the intended beneficiaries live, and proactively seek them out to ensure that they are given their due. The State machineries will have to be geared up to ensure that all the documents that are required for initiating a valid claim are provided to such intended beneficiaries at their door-step.
The Saxena Committee report notes that there are a number of cases of innovative, pro-active moves by civil society organizations, communities, and officials, that have helped in making claims and getting rights vested. These include awareness programmes and distribution of simple material in local languages, suo moto provision of documents by some block and district-level officials to Gram Sabhas (GS)[4], help in filing claims and finding evidences, advocacy to get the government machinery moving, and so on. These successful measures can be replicated at other places to implement FRA. The committee also noted that forest records, maps and working plans are almost invariably not available to the FRC, and if we can ensure access to all these documents, the claims can be filed and verified easily.
Saxena Committee recommended that a simple “How to file a claim” guide should be circulated by Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MOTA). This guide ideally should in simple, comprehensible local language illustrate as to people who can make a claim, whether IFR or CFRt under FRA, the type and number of individual and community rights that can be claimed, and an exhaustive list of what constitutes evidence in support of the claim being filed.
