Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy has given approval for issuing title deeds under Forest Rights for 314 claims under The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act.
Chairing a district-level meeting, she said 23 claims of ST and 291 other individual claims have been approved.
The pending applications for the title deeds under the Forest Rights Act should be verified by the district forest committee. Measures should be initiated to distribute title deeds for the approved applications, she directed officials from ITDP.
ITDP officer C Shivakumar said that 2,806 applications have been submitted by members of the ST community under the act, while 1,185 applications were submitted by other communities seeking title deeds under the Forest Rights Act.
Already, title deeds for 1,739 ST beneficiaries have been issued. The remaining 1,067 applications have been rejected. About 690 applications of the ST community have been reviewed, he added.