
Committee approves STs community rights applications
Madikeri: Under the chairmanship of deputy commissioner
Venkat Raja
, the
district-level forest rights committee
approved eight individual and eight community rights applications of Scheduled Tribes under the
Forest Rights Act
.
The approval was granted during a meeting at the deputy commissioner's office.
ITDP officer S Honnegowda presented the applications, which previously received sub-division level approval.
Community rights were granted to various tribal groups, including Doddareshme JB Ramu and 96 Scheduled Tribes members, Subba PS and 66 tribal members, Bombukadu Ramu PK and 41 tribal members, JB Kumara and 22 tribal members, Airasuli Ramu PS and 46 tribal members, Jangalhadi PC Mada and 32 tribal members, PM Subbanna and 63 tribal members, and Papanna PS and 51 tribal members.
In
Kodagu district
, 2,847 applications came from Scheduled Tribes, 1,373 from others, and 57 under the Forest Rights Act, totalling 4,277 applications.
The meeting was attended by district SP K Ramarajan, assistant commissioner Vinayak Narvade, Nagarhole Tiger reserve director PA Seema, deputy conservator of forests Nehru, assistant conservator of forests Ananya Kumar, Lakshmi Kant, and deputy director of land records Narayana Swamy.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)

Business Standard
12 hours ago
- Business Standard
MoEF trying to 'subvert' FRA: Over 90 forest rights groups writes to PM
Over 90 forest rights groups have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that the Union environment ministry is attempting to "subvert" the Forest Rights Act (FRA) and demanding that Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav clarify his reported statement that the "FRA leads to forest degradation." PTI reached out to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for comment. A response is awaited. The groups, comprising Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan and Himdhara Environment Research and Action Collective of Himachal, among others, said in their June 28 letter, copies of which have been sent to the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) and the ministries of Environment, Tribal Affairs and Social Justice, that Yadav, in a statement published in a newspaper on June 5, "cited titles granted under the FRA as a reason for forest degradation." They called the statement "false, misleading, legally untenable and an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the FRA." They alleged that it is part of a "consistent series of subversion" by the environment ministry, which, along with the forest bureaucracy, has "stiffly resisted and disrupted" the implementation of the FRA for the last 16 years. The groups pointed to a 2009 report submitted by the ministry to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which said that the FRA had assigned rights to protect approximately 40 million hectares of community forest resources to village-level democratic institutions and that other forest-related laws needed to be fine-tuned in light of the Act. Citing data presented by Yadav in the Lok Sabha on August 7, 2023, the groups alleged that while the minister blamed the FRA, tribals and other forest rights holders for forest degradation, he "conveniently overlooked" the fact that the ministry itself allowed the illegal diversion of over 3 lakh hectares of forest land since 2008 for non-forest activities, leading to deforestation and without complying with the FRA. They further alleged that the ministry submitted legally untenable data on encroachments in Parliament and the National Green Tribunal. The letter claimed that the ministry makes no reference to the FRA or its statutory body, the Gram Sabhas. According to the law, the rights of forest dwellers recognised and vested under the FRA must be determined, demarcated, recognised and recorded. Only after this process is completed can the extent of encroachment be determined and, subsequently, eviction proceedings be initiated under state laws. The FRA prohibits eviction under Section 4(5) without satisfactory completion of this process. The groups also alleged that the National Tiger Conservation Authority, on June 19 last year, ordered the expedited relocation of 64,801 families from core areas of tiger reserves, in "complete violation" of the FRA, the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 and other applicable legal frameworks. They claimed that this has increased the risk of displacement, forced evictions, curtailment of rights and criminalisation of forest dwellers, pushing many into states of economic and social insecurity across the country. The letter also pointed out that the "India State of Forest Report 2023," published by the Forest Survey of India, blamed titles issued under the FRA for negative changes in forest and tree cover. The groups expressed concern over recent amendments to the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 (now renamed Van Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan Adhiniyam, 1980), which were passed despite strong opposition from constitutional bodies like the NCST, scientists, conservationists, forest rights groups and forest-dwelling communities. They warned that these changes would "adversely impact India's forest and ecological security". The groups urged the prime minister to immediately halt what they termed as the environment ministry's attempts to subvert the FRA. They also demanded that Yadav publicly clarify and withdraw his statement linking the FRA to forest degradation and that the ministry immediately inform the Supreme Court and the NGT about the legal status of forest encroachments under the FRA, clearly stating that no action on encroachment can be taken until the FRA implementation process is complete.


Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
NAPM alleges illegal eviction drive in Nabarangpur; collector claims revenue records checked
Bhubaneswar: A team of National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM), Odisha unit, has alleged the govt carried out illegal eviction from four villages of Nabarangpur district, leaving many tribal, dalit, OBC and other forest-dependent families homeless. The team, led by activist Prafulla Samantara, said on Wednesday that they visited the affected villages on June 19 and documented evidence of widespread demolitions and forced evictions in Hatibadi under Jharigaon tehsil, Mendabeda under Umerkote tehsil, Chacharaghati under Chandahandi tehsil, and Lakhanpur under Raighar tehsil. He said they met governor Hari Babu Kambhampati on Tuesday and urged him to intervene in the matter. "Nabarangpur district is designated as a Fifth Schedule area. Despite clear provisions under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, and Article 21 of the Constitution, these evictions were conducted without due notice or legal process and without the consent of gram sabhas," he added. Samantara said several villagers filed FRA claims, and these are pending before the govt. "The evictions violated the Supreme Court's stay order in the 'wildlife first' case and disregarded procedural guidelines laid out in the Roy Burman and Nandini Sundar judgments. Targeting of SC/ST communities also raises serious concerns under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989," he added. Sandip Patnaik, a team member, said the forest and revenue departments conducted the eviction drives so they can carry out plantations. "As they are residents, they need land pattas and houses under the rural housing scheme. At least the departments could have rehabilitated them before carrying out demolition. The poor are staying under the open sky during the rainy season," he added. The team demanded an immediate halt to all ongoing evictions in Nabarangpur and other scheduled areas and called for a high-level judicial or independent probe. "Action should be taken against officials involved in the eviction drive," said Manas Patnaik, another member. Nabarangpur collector Subhankar Mohapatra said they cleared illegal encroachments after checking the revenue records. "Whatever FRA claims were submitted by the people, those are under discussion in consultative committees concerned on the Forest Rights Act," he added. He said they will take action if the houses of people who filed FRA claims were demolished. "But we took all necessary steps, including issuing notices to people, before clearing the encroachments," the collector said.


Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Shivraj slams forest officials, backs tribals in land dispute
Bhopal: Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday lashed out at forest department officials during a public meeting at the Sehore Collectorate, accusing them of harassing tribal communities and tarnishing the govt's image. His remarks came amid protests by tribal villagers opposing the proposed Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sanctuary in the district. A large number of tribals gathered at the Collectorate to submit a memorandum demanding cancellation of the sanctuary project. The protestors, hailing from nearly 200 villages, claimed that over 2 lakh tribal residents who have been cultivating forest land for decades are now being targeted and labelled as illegal encroachers. Chouhan, who is also the MP from Vidisha and a senior BJP leader in Madhya Pradesh, assured the community of his full support. "Mama is with you," he told the gathering. "I warn the forest department — do not make the mistake of harassing these people. This will not be tolerated under any circumstances." The tribals allege that despite living and farming on forest land for 25 to 30 years, many have not been issued land rights under the Forest Rights Act, 2006. They claim that several applications submitted through the Van Mitra Portal have not been resolved, leaving them vulnerable to eviction. Chouhan assured the villagers that he would take up the matter directly with CM Mohan Yadav.