Relevance: GS-3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment /GS-2: Mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of vulnerable sections

Key Phrases: Forest Rights Act (FRA), Forest Rights Committee,Satellite images,MGNREGA, NFSA, National Health Mission; PMAY, tendu leaves ,ecotourism, Kerala model, nomadic herding, Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996

Why in News?

• Recently, the Forest Rights Act (FRA) was in news, since the act has completely its15 years. However, till now, titles were distributed to only 46% of the applicants, and a majority of tribal applicants denied any rights.

Critical Analysis of the Act

1. In the first stage of recognition of rights, the Act requires the constitution of a Forest Rights Committee comprising members from within the village by conducting a Gram Sabha with two-thirds of the members present at the meeting. The process was not followed in many places.
2. These committees were mostly constituted by the Panchayat Secretaries upon the directives received from District Magistrates at short notice. The nominations for members for the taluk-level and district-level committees were also not transparent.
3. The FRA provides for equal rights in titles issued under the Act for women. They have an equitable role at every stage of decision-making. However, on the ground, the women were hardly visible in this regard.
4. It was disappointing that in the initial stages of implementation, there was insistence on satellite images as evidence while other admissible proofs were ignored, as happened in Gujarat. This resulted in mass rejections of claims by the authorities.
5. In some villages around Bastar, Chhattisgarh, the plots claimed and the documents confirming the award did not match. Besides, the extent of land that was awarded was far smaller than what was claimed within the ceiling.

Other shortcomings in implementation

1. Various welfare and developmental schemes of the Rural Department were not extended everywhere to the tribal people who received documents of land possession under the FRA despite the directives issued by the Ministry to treat them on a par with others.
2. Overall, poor awareness levels among the tribal people proved to be a handicap, especially in the scheduled areas which are remotely located. To effectively present claims, a fair understanding of the Act and its implementation process is necessary.
3. Some NGOs, like in Dang district of Gujarat, made a difference by hand-holding the beneficiaries at every step. However, the involvement of NGOs was missing in some interior areas in States like Chhattisgarh where insurgency was affecting the lives of the people.
4. Evidence suggests that implementation was better in areas which were fairly close to urban settings or where accessibility was easy.
5. In these places, most Central and State government schemes and programmes such as Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana, Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram, MGNREGA, NFSA, National Health Mission; PMAY were implemented, empowering the people to assert their positions
6. Many tribal areas are witnessing a decline in the quality of forest produce in their vicinity, thus forcing them to look for other sources of livelihood.
7. In Chhattisgarh, in many villages, earnings from activities such as collection of tendu leaves for rolling local cigars were affected when there was an influx of labourers from Bihar who were willing to work for low wages.
8. Poor market and exploitation by local traders/middlemen were no less demoralising.
9. The lack of irrigation facilities forces them to depend only on rainfall. To enhance their income, they migrate to work as construction or road-laying labourers.

Some Solutions

1. NGO representatives working in the tribal areas believe that the livelihoods of the locals would improve if horticulture practices are promoted in addition to bamboo and aloe vera plantations with an assured market.
2. A popular recommendation is medical and ecotourism along the lines of the Kerala model.
3. On the other hand, given the quality of education received by the youth in the remote districts, the possibility of acquiring meaningful jobs remains thin. Those accustomed to urban culture do not feel like going back to their villages.
4. Civil society groups, therefore, believe that providing skill-based education with assured jobs on a large scale in proportion to the demand would bring great changes in these areas.
5. Majority of the tribal communities in India are poor and landless. They practise small-scale farming, pastoralism, and nomadic herding. On the Human Development Index, the tribal-populated States always rank lower than the national average. The focused attention with targeted schemes are needed for upliftment of this section of Indian society.

Way Forward

• The FRA was never going to be a panacea to address all the issues of the tribal people, but it is important. To improve the condition of the tribal people, especially those living in remote areas.
• The need for effective outcomes of schemes and programmes already drafted for the tribal people need to be implemented in letter and spirit across the country.
• With protective laws like the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, in place, it is only a matter of will.
• Moreover, induct people who are sensitive to the cause of tribal people in the decision-making process at every stage.

Mains Question:

Q. Legislation like The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 by itself can do little in achieving the twin objectives of tribal upliftment and forest conservation, unless the entire Forest Ecology is visualized as an integrated ecosystem.Do you agree? Give reasons to support your answer. (15 marks)

Source: The Hindu