FRA implementation moving at sluggish pace in Himachal
The Hindu
Non-committal attitude of State agencies and lack of coordination among departments to blame: activists
Even though close to two-third of the State’s geographical area is under forest land cover, the implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) in Himachal Pradesh has been moving at a sluggish pace and the process of recognition of rights of forest dwellers is far from completion.
Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs data on status of implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, which is commonly known as Forest Rights Act (FRA) for the period ending February 2021, shows that in Himachal Pradesh 2,903 claims, which include 2,642 individual claims and 261 community claims, were received. Of the total received claims only 164 claims have been distributed titles.
Some activists working on forest rights believe that key reason behind the sluggishness in recognition and vesting of Community Forest Rights (CFR) and Community Forest Resource Rights (CFRR) under section 3(1) of the Act is the non-committal attitude of State agencies and lack of coordination among the Tribal, Panchayati Raj, Forest and Revenue departments.
Amidst demand by the BJP for an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged unauthorised transfer of funds belonging to the Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation (MVSTDC), Home Minister G. Parameshwara on Friday said that the State government will not hand over the investigation to the CBI “voluntarily.”