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Expedite implementation of Forest Rights Act: Lahaul and Spiti tribals
Calling for expeditious implementation of the Forest Rights Act, tribals from Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnaur districts met Congress members and sought support for speedy implementation of the Act
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Calling for the expeditious implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), tribals from Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnaur districts met Congress members and sought support from them for the speedy implementation of the Act
The FRA, 2006, recognises the rights of forest-dwelling tribal communities and other traditional forest dwellers to forest resources. “Almost 15 years have passed since this historical event whereby rights of communities dependent on land classified as forestland were to be recognised after decades of being labeled as encroachers facing the constant threat of eviction by the state,” said Manshi Asher of Himdhara Collective,.
“Despite having one of the highest percentages of total geographical area legally termed as forestland, Himachal has the worst record in the implementation of this Act, with mere 164 titles issued to date. Whereas, there is hardly any forestland in the state where local communities do not have forest usage and dependence for livelihood needs,” she said.
In the last five years, communities from Kangra, Chamba, Kinnaur, Lahaul-Spiti, Sirmaur and Mandi have been raising the demand for the implementation of this law in the state. It was after this that the state government was forced to announce that it would implement the Forest Rights Act in a mission mode in 2018.
However, these are yet to be properly distributed at the village level. The FRCs have submitted both individual and community claims under the FRA, 2006, some as early as 2014. Still, no final decision has been taken on these claims. During the ongoing Vidhan Sabha winter session, a joint delegation of representatives of organisations from Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur, Chamba and Kangra briefed MLAs of opposition parties on this issue.
