AgenciesNEW DELHI: More than 1.75 million land rights claims filed by tribals and other traditional forest dwellers have been rejected by state governments.
The latest statistics of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, accessed by ET, reveal that 20 states have rejected 17,52,553 claims under the Scheduled Tribe and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006, or the Forest Rights Act, till March 2020. The number of land titles awarded, so far, is slightly more at 1.98 million. The all-India exercise was conducted following a February 2019 interim order of the Supreme Court to check the number of tribal people whose claims had been rejected and who have been living as illegal squatters on land. The political repercussions ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha elections had made the Centre and state governments step in and seek more time to ensure the rejections under the Forest Right Act were valid.
At a review meeting conducted by the ministry with state governments on September 2, the states submitted the final statistics till March 2020. The statistics show the highest rejections have been from tribal-dominated Scheduled V area states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Chhattisgarh has rejected 4,61,590 claims. It has also awarded the most number of titles to tribals at 4,23,218. Madhya Pradesh has also rejected more claims than it has awarded land titles at 3,58,767 to 2,57,864. Other states with high rejections and low awarding of titles include Karnataka with 1,80,956 rejections and 16,073 titles awarded, West Bengal with 96,587 rejections and 45,130 titles awarded and Bihar with 4,215 rejections and 121 titles awarded.
The state governments are vetting all claims and updating their statistics. A ministry official said, “The state governments have been providing cumulative data on rejected claims. They are in different stages of review. The final tally of tribals that could face eviction would be known soon. In the recent review, the states pointed out that this exercise has taken a backseat due to the pandemic outbreak.”
The February 2019 Supreme Court order came on a PIL filed by NGO ‘Wildlife First’, challenging the validity of the Forest Rights Act of 2006 and accompanying rules of 2008. However, over the years, the case has centred on settlement of the rights of STs and other traditional forest dwellers and evicting those who have been encroaching upon forest land.
The latest statistics of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, accessed by ET, reveal that 20 states have rejected 17,52,553 claims under the Scheduled Tribe and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006, or the Forest Rights Act, till March 2020. The number of land titles awarded, so far, is slightly more at 1.98 million. The all-India exercise was conducted following a February 2019 interim order of the Supreme Court to check the number of tribal people whose claims had been rejected and who have been living as illegal squatters on land. The political repercussions ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha elections had made the Centre and state governments step in and seek more time to ensure the rejections under the Forest Right Act were valid.
At a review meeting conducted by the ministry with state governments on September 2, the states submitted the final statistics till March 2020. The statistics show the highest rejections have been from tribal-dominated Scheduled V area states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Chhattisgarh has rejected 4,61,590 claims. It has also awarded the most number of titles to tribals at 4,23,218. Madhya Pradesh has also rejected more claims than it has awarded land titles at 3,58,767 to 2,57,864. Other states with high rejections and low awarding of titles include Karnataka with 1,80,956 rejections and 16,073 titles awarded, West Bengal with 96,587 rejections and 45,130 titles awarded and Bihar with 4,215 rejections and 121 titles awarded.
The state governments are vetting all claims and updating their statistics. A ministry official said, “The state governments have been providing cumulative data on rejected claims. They are in different stages of review. The final tally of tribals that could face eviction would be known soon. In the recent review, the states pointed out that this exercise has taken a backseat due to the pandemic outbreak.”
The February 2019 Supreme Court order came on a PIL filed by NGO ‘Wildlife First’, challenging the validity of the Forest Rights Act of 2006 and accompanying rules of 2008. However, over the years, the case has centred on settlement of the rights of STs and other traditional forest dwellers and evicting those who have been encroaching upon forest land.
| States | Claims Rejected |
| Andhra Pradesh | 75,927 |
| Bihar | NA |
| Assam | 4,215 |
| Chhattisgarh | 4,61,590 |
| Goa | 47 |
| Gujarat | 62,256 |
| Himachal Pradesh | NA |
| Jharkhand | 28,107 |
| Karnataka | 1,80,956 |
| Kerala | 12,073 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 3,58,767 |
| Maharashtra | 45,525 |
| Odisha | 1,44,593 |
| Rajasthan | 36,299 |
| Tamil Nadu | 11,742 |
| Telangana | 83,757 |
| Tripura | 68,657 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 74,945 |
| Uttarakhand | 6,510 |
| West Bengal | 96,587 |
| Total | 17,52,553 |