Lok Sabha Question No. 2454 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-07-31
Subject: Land Rights of Forest Tribals
Ministry: TRIBAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: SHARAD TRIPATHI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## (MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS) LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.†2454 TO BE ANSWERED ON 31.07.2017

## LAND RIGHTS OF FOREST TRIBALS

## † 2454. SHRI SHARAD TRIPATHI:

Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) the details of the residential/ domicile and agricultural land rights available to the tribals living in forests; and

(b) the details and the number of land owning such tribals working as farmers/ engaged in farming, State/UTwise?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SHRI JASWANTSINH BHABHOR)

(a)    Provisions  made  in  'The  Scheduled  Tribes  (STs)  and  Other  Traditional  Forest  Dwellers  (OTFDs) (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (FRA in short) to save the rights and livelihood of forest dwelling STs and OTFDs on all forest land are at Annexure .

Further, Section 4(d) of 'the Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996  (in  short  PESA)  provides  that  every  Gram  Sabha  shall  be  competent  to  safeguard  and  preserve  the community resources.

The    Right  to  Fair  Compensation  and  Transparency  in  Land  Acquisition,  Rehabilitation  and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013 (Section 41) provides that as far as possible, no acquisition of land shall be made in the Scheduled areas and where such acquisition does take place, it shall be done as a last resort.

Section 41 of said Act (RFCTLARR) also provides for entitlements of STs to various benefits in case of acquisition or alienation of any land.

Section  42  of  the  Act  (RFCTLARR)  provides  for  reservation  and  other  benefits  to  the  Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes in the affected areas.

(b) Responsibility for implementation of FRA lies with State Governments/UTs. As per information received from  the  State  Governments,  upto  30.04.2017,  41,70,191  claims  (40,31,766  individual  and  1,38,425 community claims) have been filed and 17,92,816 titles (17,29,923 individual and 62,893 community claims) have been distributed to the extent of 1,37,47,389.80 acres of forest land. No separate data relating to number of land owning Scheduled Tribes (STs)/Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs) working as farmers/engaged in farming is maintained by this Ministry.

## Statement in reply to part (a) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2454 for 31.07.2017 asked by Sh. Sharad Tripathi, M.P.

Section 3 (1) of FRA :- For the purposes of this Act, the following rights, which secure individual or community tenure or both, shall be the forest rights of forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers on all forest lands, namely:--

- (a) right to hold and live in the forest land under the individual or common occupation for habitation or for, selfcultivation  for  livelihood  by  a  member  or  members  of  a  forest  dwelling  Scheduled-Tribe  or  other  traditional  forestdwellers;
- (b)  community  rights  such  as  nistar'',  by  whatever  name  called,  including  those  used  in  erstwhile  Princely States, Zamindari or such intermediary. regimes;
- (c) right of ownership, access to collect, use, and dispose of minor forest produce which has been traditionally collected within or outside village boundaries;
- (d) other community rights of uses or entitlement such as' fish and other products of water bodies, grazing (both settled or transhumant) and traditional seasonal resource access of nomadic or pastoralist communities;
- (e) rights including community tenures of habitat and habitation for primitive tribal groups and pre-agricultural communities;
- (f) rights in or over disputed lands under any nomenclature in any State where claims are disputed;
- (g) rights for conversion of Pattas or leases or grants issued by any local authority or any State Government on forest lands to titles;
- (h)  rights  of  settlement  and  conversion  of  all  forest  villages,  old  habitation,  unsurveyed  villages  and  other villages in forests, whether recorded, notified or not into revenue villages;
- (i)  right  to  protect,  regenerate  or  conserve  or  manage  any  community  forest  resource  which  they  have  been traditionally protecting and conserving for sustainable use;
- (j) rights which are recognised under any State law or laws of any Autonomous District Council or Autonomous Regional Council or which are accepted as rights of tribals under any traditional or customary law of the concerned tribes of any State;
- (k) right of access to biodiversity and community right to intellectual property and traditional knowledge related to biodiversity and cultural diversity;
- (l) any other traditional right customarily enjoyed by the forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes or other traditional forest dwellers, as the case may be, which are not mentioned in clauses (a) to (k) but excluding the traditional right of hunting or trapping or extracting a part of the body of any species of wild animal;
- (m)  right  to  in  situ  rehabilitation  including  alternative  land  in  cases  where  the  Scheduled  Tribes  and  other traditional forest dwellers have been illegally evicted or displaced from forest land of any description without receiving their legal entitlement to rehabilitation prior to the 13th day of December, 2005.

Under Section 5 of FRA , the holders of forest right and Gram Sabha are empowered to ensure that the habitat of forest dwelling  Scheduled  Tribes  and  other  traditional  forest  dwellers  is  preserved  from  any  form  of  destructive  practices affecting their cultural and natural heritage and the decisions to regulate access to Community Forest Resources and stop any activity which adversely affects forest and biodiversity.

Section 4 (5) FRA ,  provides that no member of a forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes or other traditional forest dweller shall be evicted or removed from forest land under his occupation till recognition and verification procedure is complete.

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