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Key Highlights:
- Relocation Must Be Voluntary: The Union Tribal Affairs Ministry has mandated that the relocation of forest-dwelling communities from tiger reserves must be an “exceptional, voluntary, and evidence-based measure.”
- New Policy Framework: The Ministry’s new policy framework outlines mechanisms for both relocation and for allowing communities to continue living in the forests.
- Right to Stay: Communities have the option to continue living in their “traditional forest habitats” while exercising their Individual Forest Rights or Community Forest Rights under the Forest Rights Act (FRA).
- National Framework for Conservation and Relocation: The policy calls for a National Framework for Community-Centred Conservation and Relocation, to be set up jointly by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. This framework will set procedural standards, timelines, and accountability.
- National Database: A National Database on Conservation-Community Interface is suggested to record and track relocation cases, compensation, and status post-relocation
Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006:
- The Forest Rights Act (FRA), enacted in 2006, is a key Indian law that aims to correct historical injustices against traditional forest-dwelling communities.
Key Provisions:
- Who is Covered: It recognizes the rights of Forest Dwelling Scheduled Tribes (FDSTs) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs) who have lived in the forests for generations.
- Individual Rights: It grants rights to hold and cultivate forest land for habitation or self-cultivation, up to 4 hectares (10 acres).
- Community Rights: It recognizes the right to collect, use, and dispose of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) (like bamboo and honey).
- Management Rights: It vests the authority in the Gram Sabha (Village Assembly) to protect, regenerate, conserve, and manage their traditional community forest resources.
- Eviction Safeguard: It prohibits the forced eviction of forest dwellers until the process of recognizing and verifying their rights is fully complete.
Why in the News?
- The Ministry of Tribal Affairs expressed “serious concerns” regarding the non-implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, based on representations received from State governments and Gram Sabhas.
