Forest Rights Act: Encroachment, non-occupation chief reasons behind rejection of a majority of claims

The Forest Rights Act. enacted in 2006, gives forest dwelling tribes the right to use forest resources for their livelihood and sustenance.

As per a report from The Indian Express, as many as 2,44,560 claims out of 2,91,730, amounting to 83.8 per cent, have been rejected in Karnataka alone, till November 2022.

Here are the numbers from a few other states for the same time period.

States	Claims made	Claims rejected
Andhra Pradesh	2,84,725	55,306
Kerala	27,637	12,484
Tamil Nadu	34,837	9,493
Telangana	2,06,984	94,426
Chhattisgarh	9,22,236	3,22,699
Madhya Pradesh	6,27,513	4,02,292
Source: Indian Express

It is reported that several claims made under this Act were with a view to encroach forest land.

“In several cases, trees on the forest land are chopped and claims are made under the FRA. Sometimes the applications get rejected and within 90 days, they file an appeal and the case drags on for years. Meanwhile, the land remains encroached on. Often this is being done at the behest of political leaders,” the publication quoted a senior Indian Forest Service officer as saying.

Also Read: 69% of soil in Jharkhand’s forest areas unfit for plant growth: Report

On the other hand, an exception to eviction of encroachers was made in 2021 in the form of a circular by the Karnataka principal chief conservator of forests. In this circular, chief conservators, assistant conservators and deputy conservators of forests were instructed not to reclaim encroached land fewer than three acres as government guidelines were awaited at that point in time.

Encroachers are smart enough to take advantage of loopholes in the law as they continue to enjoy the possession of the land.

“For example, there is a case before the Karnataka High Court, where a father, his wife and their son sought the grant of forest land individually though they are staying together. The total encroachment is more than four acres but due to the fear of eviction, each member has made separate claims over the land. The family divides the encroached-on land among themselves and each share will come below three acres,” Veerendra Patil, an environmental lawyer, told the publication.

Over 38 per cent FRA claims for land rejected till November 2022

Meanwhile, more than 38 per cent of all claims over land made under the Act in question till November 30, 2022, were rejected. This was made public by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in the Lok Sabha.

Data furnished by the ministry stressed that titles were distributed for a little over 50 per cent of the claims made, The Hindu added.

Reasons for rejection

The ministry informed the House that “non-occupation of forest land prior to 13.12.2005, claims being made on land other than forest land, multiple claims, lack of sufficient documentary evidence etc.” are the general reasons as to why claims were not honoured.

The Hindu notes further that the issue is in the top court. It has currently sought a detailed rejection report from all states and Union territories, after taking cognisance that rejection notices may not have been served to many claimants, and whether petitioners were given a chance to prove claims.