Environment ministry says committed to tribal rights in forest management

The ministry was responding to a submission made to the Prime Minister against subversion of the Forest Rights Act 2006 by nearly 150 organisations working on various forest fights related matters.

New Delhi: The Union environment ministry on Thursday said the government is committed to ensuring well-being and active involvement of tribal communities in forest management by utilising their traditional knowledge and wisdom and extending all support for enhancing livelihood opportunities for them.

Environment ministry says committed to tribal rights in forest management

The ministry was responding to a submission made to the Prime Minister against subversion of the Forest Rights Act 2006 by nearly 150 organisations working on various forest fights related matters. The submission among other issues, also refers to an interview of union environment minister, Bhupender Yadav published in HT on June 5. In his response to a question on the fact that India State of Forest report 2023 has captured increase in forest and tree cover but also flagged degradation of primary forests. How do you think we can reduce loss and degradation of primary forests? He responded stating:

“Although there is a net increase in dense forests in the country, there are areas where the dense prime forests have been affected with degradation. This may be due to encroachment, illicit felling and in the northeast region, due to shifting cultivation. And to a lesser degree, due to unregulated grazing, natural causes like storms and landslides, and also titles given under Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2006. This may be addressed by taking up stringent protection measures added with effective community involvement, and also by regulating shifting cultivation in the northeastern region. Already degraded areas can be restored by taking up site-specific soil and moisture conservation measures, protection of the area and encouraging growth.”

The submission said: This statement (made in his interview) is totally false and misleading; it is legally untenable and is an attempt to subvert the legitimacy of Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006 enacted by the Parliament. This statement is part of a consistent series of subversions by the MoEFCC. As a result, FRA implementation has been stiffly resisted and disrupted by the forest bureaucracy as well as the environment ministry, for the last 16 years. Further, the submission also flagged a National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) order dated June 19, 2024 directing eviction of 64,801 families from tiger reserves of India; the India State of Forest report 2023 report while citing the reasons for negative changes in forest and tree cover attributes ‘titles given to beneficiaries under the Forest Rights Act 2006’ as one of the reasons among various other issues which is causing delay in recognition of forest rights.

“The statement of the Minister of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change as quoted in the social media has been grossly misrepresented, distorted, represented in a piecemeal manner and is totally out of context,” MoEFCC said on Thursday. The submission on FRA was earlier quoted by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on X. “150 civil society groups and activists have recently written to the Prime Minister on the systematic and consistent manner in which the Forest Right Act, 2006 has been subverted by the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change,” he wrote.

“The context of the statement about increase in forest cover and halting of the degradation of forest through active involvement of the local community alongside Forest Department and other Government Departments following “Whole of Government” and “Whole of Society” approach has been totally undermined , overlooked and misrepresented in the tweet. On the other hand, the sincere efforts of the Ministry in ensuring involvement of community in forest management have also been deliberately overlooked. Recently, direct dialogue and interactions were made by the Minister with the Tharu tribal community living around Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in Balera village of Uttar Pradesh and also with Soliga tribals in Karnataka ensuring their active involvement in management of tiger habitats and surrounding forest areas, both of which elicited a very good response,” the ministry said.

Further responding to allegations that Van (Sansarkhan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam has been amended, subverting the legitimacy of institutional authorities “has been made without an in-depth knowledge and understanding of its various provisions , the factual position and its implementation,” the MoEFCC said.

The amendment of the Act was carried out as per laid down constitutional processes and following the due parliamentary procedures. “Further, the Rule 11 (7) of Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rule 2023, provides that the State government or Union territory administration, as the case may be, after receiving the ‘Final’ approval of the Central Government under the sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Adhiniyam, and after fulfilment and compliance of the provisions of all other Acts and rules made thereunder, as applicable including ensuring settlement of rights under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, shall issue order for diversion, assignment of lease or de-reservation (of forests).” This clause ensures that forest rights are indeed recognised, the ministry said.