The Forest Rights Act
Context:
The Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006, designed to rectify historical injustices against forest-dwelling communities, has faced challenges in its implementation.
Relevance:
GS-02 (Government policies and interventions)
Mains Question:
Why has the Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006, aimed at addressing historical injustices and democratizing forest governance, encountered obstacles in its implementation, and what are the implications? (250 words)
Dimensions of the Article:
- Historical Background
- Historical Injustices and Colonial Legacy
- Forest Rights Act (FRA)
- Rights Under the Forest Rights Act
- Related Acts and Provisions
- Challenges in Implementation
Historical Background:
- Over an extensive period, a considerable population, particularly the scheduled tribes, has maintained a symbiotic coexistence in and around forests. This enduring relationship has given rise to formal or informal customary rules governing usage and extraction.
- Ethical beliefs and practices embedded in these rules have played a crucial role in preventing excessive degradation of forests. However, during the colonial era, there was a significant shift in perspective.
- Forests, once considered a resource base for the sustenance of local communities, underwent a transformation. They became a state resource primarily exploited for commercial interests and land development for agriculture.
- Various Acts, including the Indian Forest Acts of 1865, 1894, and 1927 by the Central Government, along with certain state forest Acts, curtailed the centuries-old customary-use rights of local communities.
- This trend persisted even after independence until the enactment of The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act in 2006.
Historical Injustices and Colonial Legacy:
- Before colonialism, local communities had customary rights over forests, disrupted by the colonial Indian Forest Act of 1878.
- This marked the beginning of injustices, including the ban on shifting cultivation, biased land surveys, creation of ‘forest villages’ with compulsory labor, and restricted access to forest produce.
- The FRA acknowledges and addresses historical injustices by recognizing individual forest rights (IFRs) for habitation and cultivation and converting forest villages into revenue villages. It also empowers village communities with the right to access and manage forests, ensuring decentralized forest governance.
Forest Rights Act (FRA):
- Enacted in 2006, the Forest Rights Act (FRA) acknowledges and safeguards the rights of forest-dwelling tribal communities and other traditional forest dwellers.
- These communities, deeply reliant on forest resources for their livelihoods, habitation, and socio-cultural needs, are recognized and vested with forest rights and occupation.
- The FRA specifically targets Forest Dwelling Scheduled Tribes (FDST) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFD) who have been entrenched in these forests for generations.
- The legislation aims to strike a balance between forest conservation efforts and ensuring the livelihoods and food security of FDST and OTFD.
- The pivotal role in determining the nature and extent of Individual Forest Rights (IFR) or Community Forest Rights (CFR) rests with the Gram Sabha, the local self-government institution. These rights empower FDST and OTFD, offering various dimensions of entitlements.
Rights Under the Forest Rights Act:
- Title rights:
- Grants FDST and OTFD ownership rights to land cultivated, with a maximum limit of 4 hectares.
- Ownership is confined to land actively cultivated by the respective families, with no provision for the allocation of new lands.
- Use rights:
- Extends rights to extract Minor Forest Produce and utilize grazing areas, ensuring sustainable resource utilization.
- Relief and development rights:
- Provides recourse for rehabilitation in cases of illegal eviction or forced displacement.
- Guarantees access to basic amenities, subject to restrictions aimed at forest protection.
- Forest management rights:
- Empowers communities to protect, regenerate, conserve, or manage any community forest resource traditionally safeguarded for sustainable use.
Related Acts and Provisions:
- Wildlife Protection Act 1972:
- Prohibits capturing, killing, poisoning, or trapping of wild animals.
- Regulates and controls trade in parts and products derived from wildlife.
- Earlier, Wildlife Protection Act 1972 did not include the state of Jammu and Kashmir. However, after the reorganization act, J&K is covered under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act. The Indian government has also included it under the DPSP in the constitution.
- 1988 National Forest Policy:
- Aims at maintaining environmental stability.
- Focuses on conserving the natural heritage through the preservation of remaining natural forests.
- Advocates increasing forest/tree cover through afforestation and social forestry programs.
- Envisions a people’s movement to achieve conservation objectives and minimize pressure on existing forests.
- Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act 1996 (PESA):
- Safeguards and preserves the traditions, customs, and cultural identity of people in scheduled areas.
- Empowers Gram Sabha/Panchayat with the right to mandatory consultation in land acquisition, resettlement, and rehabilitation.
- Aims to reduce alienation in tribal areas, providing better control over the utilization of public resources.
- Seeks to minimize exploitation by allowing control over money lending, consumption, sale of liquor, and village markets.
- Promotes cultural heritage by preserving traditions, customs, and the cultural identity of the tribal population.
Challenges in Implementation:
- Politician’s Focus on Individual Rights: Many states misinterpreted the FRA as an ‘encroachment regularization’ scheme, primarily concentrating on individual rights, neglecting community rights.
- Shabby Recognition of Individual Rights: The recognition of IFRs was compromised by Forest Department resistance, bureaucratic apathy, and misuse of technology, leading to arbitrary and partial approvals.
- Slow Recognition of Community Rights: Implementation faced resistance from the forest bureaucracy, opposing community forest rights (CFRs). Maharashtra, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh have made some progress, but CFRs’ widespread acknowledgment is lacking.
Conclusion:
The Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006 holds the potential to rectify historical injustices, democratize forest governance, and empower forest-dwelling communities. However, challenges in implementation, fueled by political opportunism, bureaucratic resistance, and misinterpretation, hinder its realization. It is hightime to understand the need for a collective understanding and commitment to the FRA’s spirit to unlock its transformative potential and ensure justice for forest-dwelling communities.
