Latest news with #VSreenivasaRao
Indian Express
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Amid pushback, Chhattisgarh withdraws community forest rights
Amid protests from forest dwellers and activists, the Chhattisgarh forest department Thursday has withdrawn its directive barring all other departments, NGOs and private organisations from carrying out any work concerning Community Forest Resource Rights (CFRR) until the Centre passes a plan. The advisory was withdrawn on the directions of state Forest Minister Kedar Kashyap, the forest department said in a press statement. The department has written to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of India (MoEF&CC), to issue model CFR management plans, detailed guidelines and a training module for the master trainers and all stakeholders. The press statement said: 'The forest department had only issued an advisory to its field officers in light of the absence of model Community Forest Resource (CFR) management plans and corresponding guidelines.' It was necessary because of inconsistency in field-level implementation of CFRR due to the lack of clarity on how to integrate CFR management plans with the National Working Plan Code, 2023, the statement said. There was also confusion regarding coordination between Gram Sabhas, NGOs, and forest officials. The statement said the absence of this advisory would have resulted in ad hoc management plans being implemented without the working plan prescriptions. 'This would have jeopardized the ecological integrity of forests… and created inter-departmental and community-level disputes.' IFS officer V Sreenivasa Rao, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests & Head of Forest Force (PCCF & HoFF), Chhattisgarh, said, 'The department has played a commendable role in the distribution Individual and CFR rights. Till now a total of 4,78,641 of Individual Rights and 4,349 of CFRR (20,06,224 hectares) have been given under the Forest Rights Act (FRA). As a result… Chhattisgarh has emerged as one of the leading states in the country in terms of CFRR recognition.'
Hindustan Times
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Chhattisgarh forest dept withdraws community forest rights order after backlash
Raipur: The Chhattisgarh forest department has withdrawn its directive barring other government departments, NGOs, and private entities from undertaking any work related to Community Forest Resource Rights (CFRR), following growing protests across tribal regions of the state. According to the May 15 order, the forest department would oversee the land granted to forest dwellers under FRA provisions, until the central government provided model management plans (Representative photo) 'Forest minister Kedar Kashyap had ordered the advisory's withdrawal. The directive, issued on May 15, had stirred intense opposition from tribal communities and civil society groups, who claimed it undermined their legal rights under the Forest Rights Act (FRA),' an official statement issued by the department on Thursday said. The Forest Rights Act empowers gram sabhas with the authority to conserve and manage community forest resources and to block any activity that could harm wildlife, biodiversity, or the forest ecosystem. According to the May 15 order, the forest department would oversee the land granted to forest dwellers under FRA provisions, until the central government provided model management plans. Principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) and head of forest force V Sreenivasa Rao, who had signed the directive, cited a 2020 central communication to justify naming the forest department as the nodal agency for CFRR implementation. Protests erupted in Chhattisgarh districts including Nagri, Ambikapur, Kanker, Gaurela, Narayanpur, Gariaband, Pithora, Balod, and Bastar. Demonstrators submitted memorandums, calling the order unconstitutional and contrary to the FRA's spirit. The department has clarified that the May order was an interim measure to ensure only approved CFRR management plans were implemented until formal models were released. It said that referring to the forest department as the 'nodal agency' was a typographical error, which had been corrected through a corrigendum on June 23. However, due to the confusion and unrest that followed, both the original letter and the corrigendum have now been formally withdrawn. The forest department's statement also states that the 'state has distributed 4,78,641 individual titles and 4,349 community forest resource rights titles, covering over 20 lakh hectares—benefiting millions of forest-dwellers.' The department further explained that, in the absence of central guidelines and a model CFRR plan, the May advisory aimed only to harmonise community management plans with the National Working Plan Code (NWPC) 2023. To address the gaps, it has now requested the ministry of tribal affairs and the ministry of environment, forest and climate change to urgently release detailed CFRR model plans, implementation guidelines, and training modules for all stakeholders.
Indian Express
03-07-2025
- General
- Indian Express
Decode Politics: Why a forest rights order has sparked differences between Chhattisgarh govt depts
A unilateral directive by the Chhattisgarh Forest Department in May on community forest resources (CFR) has sparked a turf war within the administration, apart from creating a furore among tribal communities and environmental activists. In its May order, the Forest Department barred all other government departments, and non-governmental and private organisations, from carrying out any work related to CFR – which refers to common forest land that has been traditionally protected and conserved for sustainable use by a particular community – until the Centre creates a scientific template for such forest resources. However, this has raised the concern of the Tribal Welfare Department given that Chhattisgarh's sizeable and politically significant tribal communities have been given rights over the management of CFR areas under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, and the issue technically falls within its domain. What was the Forest Department's directive? In the absence of guidelines on aligning the execution of local CFR management plans with the National Working Plan Code, 2023, inconsistencies in the implementation of CFR rights were being seen increasingly, a forest official said. Field officers were uncertain whether to adhere to previously approved working plans or accommodate unstructured community-prepared plans, leading to administrative confusion and potential deviation from scientific forest management practices. On May 15, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) V Sreenivasa Rao issued a directive saying that the Centre had issued detailed guidelines regarding proper management of CFR rights, and that the Supreme Court too had said that the management of forest areas be based on scientific methods. The directive further said that a March 2024 joint letter issued by the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, had clarified that the Tribal Ministry would prepare 'a Model Community Forest Rights Management Plan / Micro-plan' in accordance with the Environment Ministry's National Working Plan Code, 2023. '(It) will then be shared with all the states,' the directive said. Rao said that the Chhattisgarh Forest Department had requested for a copy of this model management plan, and that further decisions by it on forest management would be based on it. 'At present, the provisions of the National Working Plan Code, 2023 are applicable in the entire notified forest area,' the PCCF said, adding that till the model management plan was received, 'no other department or NGOs or private organisations should do any kind of work within the CFR rights-allotted forest area'. 'At present, no plan other than the working plan approved by (the Union Environment Ministry) can be implemented in the entire forest area of the state,' Rao said. What are the directive's implications for forest-dwelling communities? The directive effectively stops all the community-related work done by forest dwellers to conserve, protect and manage forest resources. With the Chhattisgarh government recognising CFR rights only in 2022, much of the work related to such land remains at a nascent stage. As per the Chhattisgarh government, there are at least 11,450 villages with the potential to be granted CFR rights, but only 4,396 villages have received it so far. The recent directive has halted the further implementation of CFR rights. The directive also stalls the implementation of the Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan, a Central scheme granting Rs 15 lakh to each gram sabha for development purposes. As part of its CFR rights, a gram sabha must submit development plans to the District Level Monitoring Committee, headed by the district collector and including a forest official. In the wake of last month's directive, these monitoring committees are no longer processing the gram sabha plans. One such plan concerns Dhudmaras, situated in the heart of Kanger Valley National Park that was selected last year by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation for its Best Tourism Village Upgrade programme. The directive will affect forest dwellers who are largely from Scheduled Tribe (STs), including Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), and Scheduled Caste (SC) communities. Chhattisgarh has four Lok Sabha (out of 11) and 29 Assembly seats (out of 90) reserved for STs, while 10 Assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat are reserved for SCs. How have affected communities and political parties reacted? On Wednesday, villagers across nine districts – Dhamtari, Surguja, Kanker, Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi, Narayanpur, Gariaband, Mahasamund, Balod and Bastar – submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai against the directive, alleging it was passed to weaken the Forest Rights Act and constitutional rights of gram sabhas in Chhattisgarh. Chhattisgarh Congress chief and tribal leader Deepak Baij said, 'The BJP government has put all the laws of the Forest Rights Act on hold in Chhattisgarh and they are trying to steal the jal, jungle and zameen (water, forest and land) and minerals of tribals to help private corporations. The forest department is not following the law.' However, state BJP spokesperson Sanjay Srivastav said, 'We are looking into the issue. The BJP will not infringe upon tribal rights and a decision will be taken in the people's favour.' How has the Tribal Department reacted? Sonmoni Borah, who is the Principal Secretary, Tribal Development, Scheduled Caste Development, and Other Backward Classes and Minority Development Departments, maintains that it is the Tribal Department which is the nodal agency on the issue, with the Forest Department a 'supporting authority'. '(The May directive) is being examined… For ensuring the implementation of CFR rights, the Forest Department has the coordination role,' Borah said, adding that they are speaking with the Forest Department and have also sought clarification from the Centre. Forest rights activists have also questioned the Forest Department's move. Environmental activist Alok Shukla said, 'The directive reflects the department's persistent mindset of maintaining absolute control over forest management. This approach stands in direct contradiction to the Forest Rights Act, which not only recognises the community rights of forest dwellers but also empowers them to plan, protect, and manage forest resources independently. It appears to be a desperate attempt by the department to undermine the remarkable progress made by forest-dependent communities.' Another activist, Bijay Bhai, who is also national convener of tribal rights group Bharat Jan Andolan, said the consequences could be widespread. 'On a large scale, (the government) will divert forest land for corporations. Secondly, the democratic governance of forest areas as envisioned by the Forest Rights Act is going to be dismantled. Also, the forest bureaucracy will be strengthened by this and ultimately tribal people and other forest dwellers would get displaced from their ancestral areas.' How has the Forest Department reacted to the opposition to its directive? Countering the Tribal Department's concerns, PCCF Rao said: 'In the absence of a clear directive, there was a serious risk that forest areas would be managed based on unvetted or ad hoc community resource plans… This could have resulted in ecological mismanagement, conflicts between gram sabhas and forest officials, and legal challenges regarding the violation of existing norms… Additionally, it could have jeopardised sustainable forest practices, wildlife habitats, and the long-term ecological balance in sensitive forest zones.' Rao added that the opposition to the Forest Department's initiative seems to stem 'from a misunderstood perception that the directive undermines the spirit of community autonomy envisaged under the Forest Rights Act'.
Time of India
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Tribals across CG protest forest dept ‘undermining FRA act, gram sabhas'
Raipur: A massive wave of protests has erupted across Chhattisgarh as thousands of people rallied against the forest department's move of 'claiming control over community forest lands', resisting it in letter and spirit on July 1 and 2 in the state. They say the order blatantly undermines the Forest Rights Act (FRA 2006) and the constitutional powers of Gram Sabhas. The demonstrations, supported by local Gram Sabhas, tribal organizations, and social activists, took place in multiple districts including Nagari (Dhamtari), Narayanpur, Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi, Ambikapur in Surguja, Kanker, Gariaband, Pithora in Mahasamund, Balod, and Bastar. Condemning the forest department's May 15, 2025 letter, Alok Shukla, convenor of Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan (CBA), who prominently works on forest and tribal rights said, "The order illegally declares the department itself as the nodal authority under the FRA, which is a direct violation of the tribal development department's jurisdiction. Furthermore, under the guise of the National Working Plan Code 2023 promoting scientific forest management, the department threatened to curtail community forest resource management supported by gram sabhas and other departments." He referred to a letter issued by principal chief conservator of forests V Sreenivasa Rao citing a withdrawn 2020 order that had incorrectly made the forest department the nodal agency for implementing community forest resource (CFR) rights—a move strongly opposed by tribal rights groups. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch CFD với công nghệ và tốc độ tốt hơn IC Markets Đăng ký Undo Chhattisgarh's forest department said it will decide on managing CFR lands only after receiving it. Until then, only forest working plans approved by the environment ministry should be followed, even in community rights areas. The letter strictly prohibits any other departments, NGOs, or private entities from working within CFR areas until the model plan is received. However, ministry of tribal affairs, 2015 guidelines allow gram sabhas to create their own simple conservation and management plans for CFR lands. The Forest Rights Act (2006) grants tribals and forest-dependent communities rights over lands they have protected for generations, empowering gram sabhas to manage and conserve community forest resources and prevent harmful activities. At the national level, MoTA is the nodal authority, while tribal welfare departments handle this at the state level. The forest department's role is supportive—verifying claims, providing maps, and assisting in land demarcation—but not decisive. In Chhattisgarh, 4.78 lakh individual land titles have been granted over 3.82 lakh hectares, and CFR rights cover over 20,000 square kilometers in 4,349 cases. Forest and tribal rights activist Alok Shukla noted that the previous state government faced backlash over the 2020 order and had to amend it. He emphasized that the forest department is not the nodal agency for implementing the Forest Rights Act, and any state order claiming otherwise is illegal and undermines the act's goal of democratizing forest governance and empowering communities. Though the department later issued another letter stating that the forest department would act as a convenor but it also stated that no other department other than forest department will manage forest land given to tribal communities under FRA until the centre govt provides a plan for how the forests should be managed. This move puts community control of over 20,000 square kilometers of forest land at serious risk, protestors said. In response, thousands of people in tribal areas and districts staged spontaneous rallies and submitted memorandums to district officials addressed to CM Vishnu Deo Sai. The memorandums stressed that the department's order not only violates the spirit of the Forest Rights Act but also contravenes constitutional provisions granted to scheduled areas, such as the PESA Act, the Fifth Schedule, and the supreme authority of Gram Sabha decisions. Activists warned that if the forest department continues to overstep and deprive gram sabhas of their rights, it will disrupt the democratic forest management process. Protestors warned that if the govt does not immediately revoke the order and officially designate the tribal development department as the FRA nodal agency, they will escalate their campaign through mass awareness drives, peaceful satyagrahas, and assembly sit-ins.
Time of India
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Chhattisgarh Forest Rights Under Threat? Protestors demand reversal of forest department's move undermining Gram Sabha powers
RAIPUR: A massive wave of protests erupted across Chhattisgarh on July 1 and 2 by thousands of people, against an order issued by the dorest department that undermines the Forest Rights Act (FRA 2006) and the constitutional powers of Gram Sabhas. The demonstrations, supported by local Gram Sabhas, tribal organizations, and social activists, took place in multiple districts including Nagari (Dhamtari), Narayanpur, Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi, Ambikapur in Surguja, Kanker, Gariaband, Pithora in Mahasamund, Balod, and Bastar. Condemning the Forest Department's May 15, 2025 letter, Alok Shukla, convenor of Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan (CBA) who prominently works on forest and tribal rights said, 'The order illegally declares the department itself as the nodal authority under the FRA, which is a direct violation of the tribal development department's jurisdiction. Furthermore, under the guise of the National Working Plan Code 2023 promoting scientific forest management, the department threatened to curtail community forest resource management supported by Gram Sabhas and other departments. ' He referred to a letter issued by Principal Chief Conservator of Forests V Sreenivasa Rao citing a withdrawn 2020 order that had incorrectly made the Forest Department the nodal agency for implementing community forest resource (CFR) rights—a move strongly opposed by tribal rights groups. Chhattisgarh's forest department said it will decide on managing CFR lands only after receiving it. Until then, only forest working plans approved by the Environment Ministry should be followed, even in community rights areas. The letter strictly prohibits any other departments, NGOs, or private entities from working within CFR areas until the model plan is received. However, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, 2015 guidelines allow Gram Sabhas to create their own simple conservation and management plans for CFR lands. The Forest Rights Act (2006) grants tribals and forest-dependent communities rights over lands they have protected for generations, empowering Gram Sabhas to manage and conserve community forest resources and prevent harmful activities. At the national level, MoTA is the nodal authority, while tribal welfare departments handle this at the state level. The forest department's role is supportive—verifying claims, providing maps, and assisting in land demarcation—but not decisive. In Chhattisgarh, 4.78 lakh individual land titles have been granted over 3.82 lakh hectares, and CFR rights cover over 20,000 square kilometers in 4,349 cases. Forest and tribal rights activist Alok Shukla noted that the previous state government faced backlash over the 2020 order and had to amend it. He emphasized that the forest department is not the nodal agency for implementing the Forest Rights Act, and any state order claiming otherwise is illegal and undermines the Act's goal of democratizing forest governance and empowering communities. Though the department later issued another letter stating that the forest department would act as a convenor but also stated that no other department other than forest department will manage forest land given to tribal communities under FRA until the Centre govt provides a plan for how the forests should be managed. This move puts community control over 20,000 square kilometers of forest land at serious risk. In response, thousands of people in tribal areas and districts staged spontaneous rallies and submitted memorandums to district officials addressed to Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai. The memorandums stressed that the department's order not only violates the spirit of the Forest Rights Act but also contravenes constitutional provisions granted to Scheduled areas, such as the PESA Act, the Fifth Schedule, and the supreme authority of Gram Sabha decisions. Activists warned that if the Forest Department continues to overstep and deprive Gram Sabhas of their rights, it will disrupt the democratic forest management process. Protestors warned, if the government does not immediately revoke the order and officially designate the Tribal Development Department as the FRA nodal agency, they will escalate their campaign through mass awareness drives, peaceful satyagrahas, and assembly sit-ins.
