Lok Sabha Question No. 4620 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-03-23
Subject: Community Forest Right
Ministry: TRIBAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Ritesh Pandey, Thirumaa Valavan Thol

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA (MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS)

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4620

TO BE ANSWERED ON 23.03.2020

## COMMUNITY FOREST RIGHT

## 4620. SHRI RITESH PANDEY:

## SHRI THIRUMAAVALAVAN THOL:

Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a)  whether  the  Government is  planning to  defend  the  constitutionality  of  the  Forest  Right Act (FRA) in the Supreme Court in the ongoing batch of matters pending before it and if so, the details thereof;

(b) the details of nodal Ministry that has filed any petition before the Hon'ble Supreme Court for establishing the legal position that the FRA does not have any provision for eviction and instead recognizes the rights of communities over the forests, which in turn enables them to conserve forests; and

(c)  the  status  of  implementation  of  the  FRA,  2006  especially  the  status  of  recognition  of Community Forest Resource rights as the implementation of Community Forest Right (CFR) continue to be poor across the States?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRIBAL AFFIARS

## (SMT. RENUKA SINGH SARUTA)

(a) Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) have already filed Counter affidavits before the Hon'ble  Supreme  Court  in  WP(C)  No.  109/2008  and  IA  No.5  of  2014  in  WP(C)  No. 109/2008  in  the  matter  of  Wildlife  First  and  Others  Vs  UOI  &  Others  defending  the Constitutional validity of Forrest Right Act (FRA).

- (b) In the context of orders of Hon'ble Supreme Court dated 13.02.2019 in W.P.(C) No. 109  of  2008,  MoTA  has  filed  affidavit  inter-alia  indicating  that,  '... under  the  Act,  the rejection of a claim does not ipso facto lead to eviction of a tribal. There is no provision in the  Act  that  provides  for  eviction  after  a  claim  is  rejected.  If  a  claim  is  rejected,  then  the appropriate state government would be obliged to resort to appropriate provisions to evict a person from the forest in accordance with law' .

(c)   As per Forest Rights Act, 2006 and the rules made thereunder, the State Governments are responsible for implementation of the Act.

As per information received from the State Governments, the overall and State wise status of implementation of Forest Rights Act, 2006 is given as Annexed .

Annex of reply to Part (c) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 4620 for 23.03.2020 asked by Shri Ritesh Pandey and Shri ThirumaavalavanThol regarding 'Community Forest Right'

State wise details of claims received, titles distributed and the extent of forest land for which titles distributed (individual and community), as on 30.11.2019, in major States, is indicated below:

| S. No.   | States           | No. of Claims received upto 30.11.2019   | No. of Claims received upto 30.11.2019   | No. of Claims received upto 30.11.2019   | No. of Titles Distributed upto 30.11.2019   | No. of Titles Distributed upto 30.11.2019   | No. of Titles Distributed upto 30.11.2019   | Extent of Forest land for which titles distributed (in acres)   | Extent of Forest land for which titles distributed (in acres)   | Extent of Forest land for which titles distributed (in acres)   |
|----------|------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
|          |                  | Individual                               | Community                                | Total                                    | Individual                                  | Community                                   | Total                                       | Individual                                                      | Community                                                       | Total                                                           |
|          |                  | 1                                        | 2                                        | 3                                        | 4                                           | 5                                           | 6                                           | 8                                                               | 9                                                               | 10                                                              |
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh   | 1,77,446                                 | 4,062                                    | 1,81,508                                 | 96,675                                      | 1,374                                       | 98,049                                      | 2,39,554                                                        | 4,53,384                                                        | 6,92,938.00                                                     |
| 2        | Assam            | 1,48,965                                 | 6,046                                    | 1,55,011                                 | 57,325                                      | 1,477                                       | 58,802                                      | NA/NR                                                           | NA/NR                                                           | NA/NR                                                           |
| 3        | Bihar            | 8,022                                    | NA/NR                                    | 8,022                                    | 121                                         | 0                                           | 121                                         | NA/NR                                                           | NA/NR                                                           | NA/NR                                                           |
| 4        | Chhattisgarh     | 8,58,682                                 | 31,558                                   | 8,90,240                                 | 4,01,251                                    | 21,967                                      | 4,23,218                                    | 8,43,100.69                                                     | 20,38,146.15                                                    | 28,81,246.84                                                    |
| 5        | Goa              | 9,758                                    | 378                                      | 10,136                                   | 17                                          | 8                                           | 25                                          | 76.60                                                           | 10.25                                                           | 86.86                                                           |
| 6        | Gujarat          | 1,82,869                                 | 7,187                                    | 1,90,056                                 | 88,226                                      | 3,516                                       | 91,742                                      | 1,39,776.25                                                     | 11,61,351.00                                                    | 13,01,127.25                                                    |
| 7        | Himachal Pradesh | 2,071                                    | 170                                      | 2,241                                    | 129                                         | 7                                           | 136                                         | 5.96                                                            | 4,670.56                                                        | 4,676.52                                                        |
| 8        | Jharkhand        | 1,07,032                                 | 3,724                                    | 1,10,756                                 | 59,866                                      | 2,104                                       | 61,970                                      | 1,53,395.86                                                     | 1,03,758.97                                                     | 2,57,154.83                                                     |
| 9        | Karnataka        | 2,75,446                                 | 5,903                                    | 2,81,349                                 | 14,667                                      | 1,406                                       | 16,073                                      | 20,813.51                                                       | 28,155.75                                                       | 48,969.26                                                       |
| 10       | Kerala           | 36,140                                   | 1,395                                    | 37,535                                   | 24,599                                      | NA                                          | 24,599                                      | 33,018.12                                                       | NA                                                              | 33,018.12                                                       |
| 11       | Madhya Pradesh   | 5,85,239                                 | 42,182                                   | 6,27,421                                 | 2,29,027                                    | 27,970                                      | 2,56,997                                    | 8,14,034.79                                                     | 14,65,058.49                                                    | 22,79,093.28                                                    |
| 12       | Maharashtra      | 3,62,679                                 | 12,037                                   | 3,74,716                                 | 1,65,032                                    | 7,084                                       | 1,72,116                                    | 3,92,928.73                                                     | 27,36,660.68                                                    | 31,29,589.41                                                    |
| 13       | Odisha           | 6,18,771                                 | 13,826                                   | 6,32,597                                 | 4,36,000                                    | 6,576                                       | 4,42,576                                    | 6,48,465.15                                                     | 2,35,400.58                                                     | 8,83,865.72                                                     |
| 14       | Rajasthan        | 74,414                                   | 1,441                                    | 75,855                                   | 38,007                                      | 103                                         | 38,110                                      | 57,730.26                                                       | 2,993.64                                                        | 60,723.90                                                       |
| 15       | Tamil Nadu       | 32,983                                   | 1,005                                    | 33,988                                   | 6,111                                       | 276                                         | 6,387                                       | 8,607.26                                                        | NA/NR                                                           | 8,607.26                                                        |
| 16       | Telangana        | 1,83,252                                 | 3,427                                    | 1,86,679                                 | 93,639                                      | 721                                         | 94,360                                      | 3,00,284.00                                                     | 4,54,055.00                                                     | 7,54,339.00                                                     |
| 17       | Tripura          | 2,00,358                                 | 277                                      | 2,00,635                                 | 1,27,931                                    | 55                                          | 1,27,986                                    | 4,60,182.41                                                     | 91.16                                                           | 4,60,273.57                                                     |
| 18       | Uttar Pradesh    | 92,520                                   | 1,124                                    | 93,644                                   | 17,712                                      | 843                                         | 18,555                                      | 18,854.00                                                       | 1,20,802.06                                                     | 1,39,656.06                                                     |
| 19       | Uttarakhand      | 3,574                                    | 3,091                                    | 6,665                                    | 144                                         | 1                                           | 145                                         | 0.00                                                            | 0.00                                                            | 0.00                                                            |
| 20       | West Bengal      | 1,31,962                                 | 10,119                                   | 1,42,081                                 | 44,444                                      | 686                                         | 45,130                                      | 21,014.27                                                       | 572.03                                                          | 21,586.29                                                       |
|          | TOTAL            | 40,92,183                                | 1,48,952                                 | 42,41,135                                | 19,00,923                                   | 76,174                                      | 19,77,097                                   | 41,51,842                                                       | 88,05,110                                                       | 1,29,56,952.17                                                  |