E-Paper
Chhattisgarh looks to give habitat rights to ‘vulnerable tribal group’
These rights once recognised by the government allows a tribe to assert their customary and traditional rights over the entire area they traditionally inhabited
Chhattisgarh has started the process of recognising habitat rights of the Kamar tribe, a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG) in a move that could eventually lead to establishing their customary rights over areas they inhabit in four forested districts of the state.
Habitat rights are different and their recognition is more powerful than the recognition of forest rights alone. These rights once recognised by the government allows a tribe to assert their customary and traditional rights over the entire area they traditionally inhabited; and to conserve and ecologically manage the area; and, most importantly, to have a say on any proposal to divert forests.
Experts said the move to recognise habitat rights is particularly significant in view of the provisions of Forest Conservation (Amendment) Act, passed in the ongoing session of Parliament which exempts unrecorded deemed forests from the ambit of the law. The Forest Conservation Rules 2022 removed a clause on obtaining prior consent of gram sabhas for forest clearance proposals related to any infrastructure project.
In 2015, Madhya Pradesh recognised habitat rights of baigas in Dindori district.
“In Chhattisgarh, this is the first time habitat rights are being recognised. The Kamar tribe is spread across four districts--Gariyaband, Mahasamund, Dhamtari, and Kanker districts.The importance of habitat rights is that it recognises the rights of the community over the entire spread of their area. Four categories of rights are recognised-- their claim on lands; ecological rights which includes use of water bodies, forest resources, traditional knowledge; customary practices such as traditional attire, house building techniques; and economic activities like honey keeping, bamboo art and crafts etc,” explained Bibhor Deo, project lead at United Nations Development Programme, Technical assistance on Forest Rights & Governance to Tribal Department of Chhattisgarh. These rights do not include hunting or trapping.
On Wednesday, Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel distributed habitat rights for 20 villages consisting of 20 to 30 families in each on average.
“Now the process of recognising rights will continue in three other Kamar districts also. These communities live away from habitation in slightly isolated hamlets within forests,” added Deo.
Chhattisgarh has identified and listed seven such groups --Abujhmadia, Baiga, Birhor, Kamars, and Pahadi Korwas, which are tribes recognized by the central government, along with two communities, Bhunjia and Pandos, recognized by the state government.
According to Forest Rights Act 2006, the district level committee shall, in view of the differential vulnerability of PVTGs amongst the forest dwellers, ensure that all receive habitat rights.
Leadership of the gram sabha plays an important role in the application process of habitat rights.
“Habitat rights are one of the most important rights under Forest Rights Act 2006 because it is over their entire customary habitat. Naturally this makes it an important provision for conservation of forests and biodiversity rich areas. The Chhatisgarh government’s move is particularly significant in the context of Forest Conservation Amendment Act because these habitats overlap with areas proposed for forest diversion for various projects or with deemed forests. These areas are also affected by monoculture plantations,” said Tushar Dash, an independent expert and researcher on forest rights.
He added that recognition of habitat rights is particularly difficult because of the large area involved which are often important for mineral reserves and other projects.
