Permanent Patta to Tribals
Ministry of Tribal Affairs administers the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (FRA in short) which was notified for operation with effect from 31.12.2007. It is an act to recognize and vest the Forest Rights and occupation in forests land in forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers who have been residing in such forests for generations but whose rights could not be recorded. These are usufruct rights and not ownership rights.
The recognition and vesting of forest rights under the said act to the forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and to other traditional forest dwellers in relation to any State or Union Territory in respect of forest land and their habitat is subject to the condition that such Scheduled Tribes or tribal communities or other traditional forest dwellers had occupied forest land before the 13th day of December, 2005.
As per FRA and the rules made thereunder, the responsibility for implementation of FRA lies with the State Governments/ UTs.
As per information received from the States/ UTs till 31.12.2015, 44,13,727 claims have been filed and 17,11,045 titles have been distributed, number of claims rejected being 2,064,536.
The major reasons for rejection of claims that have come to the notice of this Ministry are non-occupation of forest land as on 13.12.2005, claims being made on land other than forest land/revenue land, multiple claims and lack of evidence of residing on the forest land for the specified period of time (this is particularly in the case of Other Traditional Forest Dwellers).
This information was given by Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Shri Mansukhbhai Dhanjibhai Vasava in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
Samir/jk