There is a proposal to cut down the Forests Right Act, 2006.
It is said that it will only weaken the conservation regime and affect the rights of forest dwellers.
What is the Forest Rights Act (FRA)?
The FRA is a piece of social legislation which aims to address the historical injustice that our forest dwelling communities have had to face for nearly 150 years.
It provides them with security of tenure over land for cultivation and habitation through individual rights.
It also provides access to a variety of resources through more than a dozen types of community forest rights.
What do the provisions mean?
It empowers forest dwelling communities to protect, regenerate, conserve and manage any community forest resource which they have been traditionally protecting and conserving.
It has the provision for creating critical wildlife habitats within protected areas.
What are the legal challenges?
The very constitutionality of the FRA was challenged in the Supreme Court in 2008 by some conservation organisations.
The court’s order of February, 2019 puts FRA in a state of temporary disuse; this highlights the very tardy implementation of the FRA by the State governments.
One of the key arguments is that, FRA is beyond the legislative competence of Parliament as ‘land’ is a state subject.
If this argument is accepted, the Wildlife Protection Act and the entire architecture of forest laws will have to be dismantled as ultra vires as all of them deal with ‘land’.
The Supreme Court (SC) order directs the eviction of forest dwellers whose claims have been rejected under the FRA.
Many State governments have admitted to the SC that their implementation of the FRA has been incomplete and flawed.
This rejects the misguided and unmeritorious nature of this whole legal challenge becomes very clear.
What does the FRA hold in it?
The FRA is not land distribution legislation, as how it has been criticised now.
It very clearly states that forest dwellers (Scheduled Tribes or Other Traditional Forest Dwellers) are only entitled to claim both individual and community forest rights.
It is claimed only through a clear process of submitting a claim and after its verification and subsequent approval or rejection.
For the rejected cases, an appeal process has been outlined.
It aims to only confirm tenure and access rights which in some sense the forest dwellers have been exercising de facto but under severe restrictions and control.
It is in fact the failure of the state to settle pre-existing rights under existing forest and conservation laws that created the situation of historical injustice.
What are the provisions often suppressed by critics of FRA?
The FRA does not sanction any fresh clearance of forest, as individual rights over land will only be granted if the forest dweller was in possession of that parcel of land on December 13, 2005.
It also limits the extent of land that can be granted to the area that was occupied on December 13, 2005.
It places an upper limit of 4 hectares per claimant for individual rights.
What can be done?
The FRA has potential to strengthen the conservation regime across India by recognising rights of forest dwellers over land and community forest resources.
Democratising the forest governance and conservation should be done by the providing the rights and authority to local communities and gram sabhas.
So, the FRA will empower gram sabhas of the forest dwelling communities to halt the destruction of forests.
Implementing the FRA in letter and spirit with empathy for forest dwellers will be a decisive step by India to achieve conservation justice.
