The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA), Government of India, convened the first Regional Review Conference on implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (FRA) at Bengaluru, Karnataka, today, bringing together senior functionaries of the Tribal Welfare, Revenue and Forest Departments of the five Southern States, namely Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, to review the status of implementation and deliberate upon a coordinated way forward.

Proceedings commenced with a Welcome Address by the Secretary, Scheduled Tribes Welfare Department, Government of Karnataka, who apprised the gathering of the objectives of the Conference and extended a formal welcome to the dignitaries and delegates, followed by a presentation of traditional tribal dance by artistes representing the tribal communities of Karnataka. This was followed by the Keynote Address of the Joint Secretary, MoTA, and the Special Address of the Secretary, MoTA. The Joint Secretary apprised the Conference that, as on 30 June 2026, over 54 lakh Individual Forest Rights (IFR) claims have been received nationally, with approximately 25.42 lakh titles distributed over nearly 238 lakh acres, while over 10 lakh claims remain pending and 19,845 Community Forest Rights (CFR) stand recognised; the Southern States were called upon to accord priority to time-bound disposal of pending claims, recognition of Community Forest Resource Rights and Habitat Rights of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), and incorporation of recognised rights in land records. In her Special Address, the Secretary, MoTA, underscored that recognition of rights must translate into tenure security, sustainable livelihoods and convergence with development schemes, leading to the empowerment of tribal communities. The Secretary called for greater attention to Community Forest Rights and Community Forest Resource Rights, noting their potential to strengthen Gram Sabha-led forest governance and community-based livelihoods, and referred to the recent joint advisory issued by MoTA and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change enabling integration of Community Forest Resource Management Plans with Forest Department working and management plans. Underlining that habitat rights of PVTGs embody living systems of culture, livelihood and traditional knowledge, the Secretary called for their recognition to be undertaken with sensitivity and active community participation.

The Director, FRA, MoTA, apprised the Conference of the national scenario of FRA implementation, with particular focus on progress made by the Southern States, covering issues such as pendency of claims, incorporation of Records of Rights, recognition of Habitat Rights, recognition of Community Forest Resource Rights (CFRR), and the support being extended by the Ministry in this regard. The Deputy Secretary, MoTA, thereafter apprised the Conference of the need for digitisation of FRA records and introduced the National-level FRA Portal, currently under development, and urged States to utilise the Portal and integrate their existing FRA records through Application Programming Interface (API).

State-wise Presentations

Officers of the five Southern States thereafter apprised the Conference of the status of FRA implementation in their respective States, as summarised below:

Karnataka: Of 2,95,176 applications received, 16,700 Forest Rights Titles have been distributed and 15,553 claims remain under verification; delay in constitution of Taluk and Zilla Panchayats has affected functioning of the Sub-Divisional and District Level Committees, and re-verification of rejected claims through 'Mahajaru' committees is under progress, with FRA beneficiary data being integrated with the State's FRUITS and Bhoomi platforms for scheme convergence.

Tamil Nadu: 15,838 titles issued in Phase-I stand digitised, while 41,692 fresh claims received under Phase-II are under verification, supported by a State-wide FRA Atlas, dedicated District FRA Cells and structured capacity-building of Forest Rights Committees.

Andhra Pradesh: As on 31 August 2026, 2,27,300 Individual and 1,225 Community titles stand distributed against 2,90,874 claims received, with an integrated land-record and welfare-delivery model linking the Giribhumi FRA portal with the State's revenue and banking systems.

Telangana: 2,30,735 Individual and 102 Community titles have been distributed against 6,55,249 claims received, supported by a fully digitised Online RoFR Title Granting System integrated with the BhuBharathi revenue portal, conferred the SKOCH Award of Excellence (Gold, 2024).

Kerala: 29,545 Individual and 286 Community titles have been recognised, with pendency of 1,616 individual and 108 community claims attributed mainly to survey and verification processes, and six Forest Villages converted into Revenue Villages.

Way Forward

The Ministry called upon the Southern States to ensure time-bound disposal and reconciliation of pending and rejected claims, accelerate recognition of Community Forest Resource Rights and PVTG Habitat Rights, complete incorporation of recognised rights in revenue and forest records, and strengthen convergence with livelihood and welfare schemes, with State-specific roadmaps and timelines which were worked out by the respective States.

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