FOREST LAND PATTAS FOR DWELLERS

The Congress has had an abiding commitment towards the tribals. The Party and its leadership have always recognized that the tribals and forest dwellers have been the preservers of our ecological heritage. Its leaders have always been alive to the need to protect the livelihood of these tribal forest dwellers. It has been a long held belief of the Party that the protection of forests cannot be left only to the employees of the Forest Department. The Congress has strongly believed that the involvement of the stakeholders is crucial to the preservation of forests.

The Congress Party's commitment to the tribal cause is reflected in the following three paras of the National Common Minimum Programme:

• The UPA will urge the states to make legislation for conferring ownership rights in respect of minor forest produce, including tendu patta, on all those people from the weaker sections who work in the forests.

• The UPA administration will take all measures to reconcile the objectives of economic growth and environmental conservation, particularly as far as tribal communities dependent on forests are concerned.

• Eviction of tribal communities and other forest-dwelling communities from forest areas will be discontinued. Cooperation of these communities will be sought for protecting forests and for undertaking social afforestation. The rights of tribal communities over mineral resources, water sources, etc. as laid down by law will be fully safeguarded.

It is to fulfill this commitment that the UPA government legislated the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 and then notified the rules within the Act on 31st December 2007. This has been internationally hailed as a landmark law that needed to be accepted as a model piece of legislation across the world for indigenous people. The Act has underlined two key points:

• It has recognised the fundamental right of the tribal people to live with dignity.
• It has accepted the fact that tribal people are conservationists and not destroyers of wildlife and forests. Now there is scientific evidence to prove that the tribals are best preservers of the forests.

With the Act passed by Parliament, and the Rules notified by the Government the onus now falls on the Congress workers to ensure that residents in the 3,000 forest villages in the country are able to get their legal rights and fully participate in the process of development. The Government on its part has made an attempt to make the procedure smooth and clear all the ambiguities. Yet every case deserves to be handled with care and sensitivity to make sure that these tribals and forest dwellers who have protected our ecological heritage for generations get their due.

SALIENT POINTS

The tribals and other forest dwellers who have been residing there for generations will have their rights recorded and recognized.

The cut off date for recognition and vesting of forest rights is 13 December 2005.

All tribals and other traditional forest dwellers who have resided for three generations prior to this date and who depend on the forest or forest lands for bonafide livelihood needs would be recognized.

The ceiling for occupation of forest land would be 4 hectares per family.

The right of ownership access to collect, use and dispose off minor forest produce which has been collected within or outside the boundaries of the village is also recognized.

The term minor forest produce is defined to include all non timber forest produce of plant origin, including bamboo, brush wood, stumps, cane, tussar, cocoons, honey-wax, lac, tendu leaves, medicinal plants, herbs, roots, tubers, etc.

In cases where the Scheduled Tribes and Forest Dwellers have been illegally evicted or displaced from forest land of any description without receiving their legal entitlement to rehabilitation prior to 13 December 2005, their right to in situ rehabilitation including alternative land is also recognized.

The rights conferred are heritable but not alienable or transferable.

It is also provided that no tribal or other forest dweller shall be evicted from forest land under his or her occupation until the recognition and verification procedure is completed.

The Gram Sabha is the designated competent authority for initiating the process to determine the nature and the extent of individual or community forest rights.

There are two forms provided under the Act and Rules.

Form A For Claim for Rights to Forest Land

Form B For Claim for Community Rights