Modern Education Society’s

NEW LAW COLLEGE

Subject : ENVIROMENTAL LAW

Topic : THE SCHEDULED TRIBES AND OTHER TRADITIONAL FOREST

DWELLERS (RECOGNITION OF FOREST RIGHTS) ACT, 2006

Name : Vishal Deorao More

Class : F.Y.LL.B

Roll no : 36 Div : A

Respective Teacher,

Please allow me to choose the above mentioned topic for my assignment.

Teacher’s Signature
 THE SCHEDULED TRIBES AND OTHER TRADITIONAL
FOREST DWELLERS (RECOGNITION OF FOREST
RIGHTS) ACT, 2006

Introduction

The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest
Rights) Act of 2006, also known as the Forest Rights Act, the Tribal Rights Act, the
Tribal Bill and the Tribal Land Act, is pivotal legislation that governs and provisions for
the legal rights of the forest-residing communities, particularly the
indigenous Adivasi  tribal community, over the territory and natural resources that they
have been dispossessed of since the times of colonial imperialism of the British in India.
Even after the independence of the country, it was observed that the forests were left at
the whims and fancies of some government officials who commanded excessive power.
Therefore, this act aims for the conservation of both the marginalised people and the
forests they live in.

Why is this law necessary?

During the British Raj, rampant exploitation of the forests and its resources was executed
by the imperialists to swell up their revenues and stimulate the economic growth of their
country. There was a transition in the nature of the forests from a core of resources for the
livelihood of its inhabitants to a State-owned resource used for the sake of meeting the
commercial, agricultural and developmental needs. Even the existence of three Indian
Forests Act (1865, 1894 and 1927) and certain other state legislations only fuelled the
curtailment of the rights of local communities and deprived them of practising their
customary, age-old traditions in a fearless, free environment, devoid of any insecurities.

Even in the post-independence era, the situation was not much different either. For a long
time, a skewed, colonial definition of ‘forests’ derived from the Indian Forests Act was
followed in the legal system. Under the Forest Act, even those territories were declared
‘government forests’ where improper supervision and collection of information regarding
its residents, usage of land etc. was conducted. Sometimes, the lands were officiated as
government-owned even without recording of data or proper investigation. Till today,
almost 60% of India’s national parks have not been able to finish their procedure of
enquiry and a resolution of the rights. This revealed a system of unconstitutional
acquisition of land in the garb of conservation of forests. For combatting the same, and
particularly for upholding the symbiotic relationship of the indigenous and their natural
environment, this law was legislated in 2006. The implementation of the law commenced
on 1st January 2008. 

What are the conditions like in the forest areas?

Due to the persistence of the aforestated conditions and anti-forest laws, the inhabitants
of the forests have been put through harassments, evictions and so on, by holding them
culpable of encroachment in their lands. The local communities also had to face the
bureaucratic brunt. Crimes such as sexual assault, torture, extortion for money, bonded
labour and human trafficking were (and to some extent, even today) common. Post the
eviction drive which started from the year 2002, more than 3 lakh families, particularly of
the indigenous tribal communities, were displaced and left homeless. In many places,
several villages in and around forests were destroyed. In a way, there was a legally
sanctioned criminalisation of the entire tribal communities which is totally against the
spirit and ethos of the Constitution.

What does the Forest Rights Act do?

The main purposes that are meant to be served by this statute are as follows:

 Sanctioning a legal recognition of the rights of the traditional communities living

in forested areas since time immemorial who have been kept deprived of their
basic fundamental legal rights due to the draconian provisions of the colonial
forest acts.
  The Act also aims to shift away from the excess state control of the forests which
were kept away from the purview of public discourse and discussion. This
democratises and gives a respectful recognition to the tribal identity.

 The aim is also for empowering and encouraging local self-governance amongst
the marginalised tribal communities and forest dwellers.

 Conservation of the traditional knowledge and the intellectual property rights

related to cultural diversity and biodiversity of the inhabitants of the forests.

 The Act also provides for guidelines for undertaking developmental facilities of
the villages in and around forested areas.

 Another important aspect dealt with the Act is the promotion of the vulnerable
groups, aiming at alleviating their poverty levels and pro-poor growth.

Who is a forest dweller under this law, and who gets rights?

In order to enjoy the privileges and rights laid down in the Act, it is important to be
categorized as a “forest dweller”. There are two important stages for the determination of
the definition. The first stage involves conditions which are supposed to be satiated to
qualify as a forest dweller. These are as discussed below:

1. The person (s) should be inhabiting forests or forest lands.

2. The person should be a bonafide dependent on forest, its land and resources for
their livelihood. 

The second stage involves proving the following:

1. Section 2(o) of the Act stipulates that the aforementioned conditions of stage 1
need to be true for seventy-five years, a period of which will deem a person as
an Other Traditional Forest Dweller. 

2. Two further alternatives are enshrined under the Act. These are as follows:
i) Section 2(c) of the Act which provides that the person is a member of the Scheduled
Tribe.

ii) Section 4(1) of the Act provides that the person is a resident of an area where they are
scheduled.

In the latter case, the person is deemed to be a Forest Dwelling Scheduled Tribe.

What kind of rights do forest dwellers get under this Act?

As per the Scheduled Tribes and the Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest
Rights) Act, 2006, there are three kinds of rights which are embodied. These are
discussed below under separate headings.

Land Rights

1. According to Section 4(3) of the Act, a date has been affixed for determining
whether the rights to land which has not been cultivated before and after 31st
December 2005. 

2. Under Section 3(1)(a) read with Section 4(6), as long as the land that is being

cultivated by themselves for their livelihood but whose documents are not
available at the claimant’s disposal, a minimum of 4 hectares of land can be
claimed.

3. As per Section 3(1)(f) and 3(1)(g), if the land of the claimant has been illegally

occupied by the Forest Department or is subject to a Forest-Revenue department’s
dispute, he or she can still claim those land rights on presentation of a patta  or a
government lease.

4. Section 4(4) of the Act provides for the protection of the land in a way that
permits the selling or transfer to anyone except through inheritance.

Rights of Usage

The right of usage and/or collection of the following have been enlisted by the Act :
 1. Section 3(1)(c) provisions for the rights to use minor, “traditionally” collected
products manufactured by forests such as tendu patta, herbs or plants of
medicinal benefits. Nonetheless, timber has been left excluded from this list as
this would have facilitated rampant deforestation.

2. Section 3 also enlists places such as grazing grounds and water bodies which can
be used by the forest dwellers.

3. Special provision has been laid down in the act for the lands of traditionally
nomadic or pastoralist communities which do not follow a culture of settled
agriculture and move to different places along with their herds. 

Protection and Conservation Rights

1. Before the existence of this legal regime, it was only the officers of the forest
department that had a legally vested responsibility of protecting the forest. This
provided a lot of exemplary powers to these officers who, according to their
whims and fancies, were allowed to destroy or pass off land or territory.

2. These were all counted as official work and stopping them from dispensing these
services was criminalised according to the previous laws.

3. After the introduction of the current Forest Rights Act, rights were also provided
to the community for protecting and managing the forest. 

4. Section 3(1)(i) of the Act provisions for right and power for the conservation and
protection of the community forests.

5. Section 5 of the Act vests rights to different forest-dwelling communities for
safeguarding their habitat, wildlife etc. With the presence of constant dangers and
risks such as the forest mafia gangs, crony capitalists or industrialists, land
grabbers and others, majority of whom act in consonance and after procuring
support of the Forest Department. 

How are the rights recognized?

Besides laying down an elaborate set of rights and powers to the Scheduled Tribes and
other recognised forest dwellers, a lucid, three-step procedure is provided by Section 6 of
the Act with regards to who gets these rights and their recognition. These are mentioned
as below:

1. The role of the entire gram sabha, and not merely the gram panchayat, has been
given due importance in the Act. The members of the gram sabha are given the
authority to make a recommendation concerning who possess and cultivate the
land, the duration of the possession or/and cultivation etc. 

2. The reason behind providing the responsibility to the gram sabha is the
democratic set up of the same, with participation from various members of the
community and transparent deliberation. 

3. However, in the spirit of the democratic institutionalisation of the village

legislature or gram sabha, their recommendations are not final and are sent for the
screening procedures at two distinct levels: taluka and district levels.

4. According to Section 6(6) of the Act, the power of making the final decision has
been vested to the district-level committee. 

5. As far as the composition of the committees is concerned, they consist of six

members, out of which three are elected while the remaining three are
government officials. 

6. Section 6(2) stipulates that if at the taluka level, if a person believes a claim to be

untrue, appeals to the Committee in pursuance of the same and they end up
proving the veracity of the same, rights are denied to the claimant.

7. Section 6(4) is an exact replication of the above stated, with the only difference
being that this applies to the district level.

8. Another important right that is recognised under this Act is that the land which is
sanctioned under this law cannot be sold or transferred. 

Why is this Act debatable?

One of the major reasons for this Act to be described as contentious is the high rate of
rejection of the claims. Critics describe the three-tier committee level scrutiny as rigid
and, to some extent, arbitrary. Some naysayers have paralleled the system with
bureaucracy and thus tagged it as anti-people.

There exist way too many different views concerning the Forest Rights Act in India.
Even at the time of its legislation and subsequent enactment, a proper parliamentary and
public consensus was not arrived at. The Act has got major participation and involvement
from several NGOs and rights-based groups, activists, environmentalists and other
intellectuals. The political dichotomy of the Left (pro-tribal) and the Right (pro-capitalist)
have also played a crucial part in the same. There has always been a conflict between the
groups supporting tribal rights and those taking a pro-government stance, supporting the
Forest Department and Ministry of Environment and Forests. The extension of the rights
to humans on forest territories was, and is still, seen as a direct threat to maintaining and
protecting the ecosystem, forests and the natural resources.

Conclusion

Despite the contentious and debatable nature of this law, the importance and necessity of
the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers Act (Recognition of Rights)
Act, 2006 can not be negated completely. The law assumes even more significant
importance when the country is a developing economy and is full-fledged following the
path of capitalism, thus making it even more substantial to provide a redressal mechanism
for vulnerable and marginalised communities and groups, such as the Adivasis and the
other similar tribes, from the necessary evil of development and infrastructural growth
while also safeguarding their traditions, heritage and identity that forms an important part
of the nation’s cultural diversity as well.