Lok Sabha Question No. 1992 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-31
Subject: Recognition of Forest Rights for Tribals
Ministry: TRIBAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Shri Sudama Prasad, Shri Amra Ram, Shri Kodikunnil Suresh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-1992

To Be Answered On- 31/07/2025

## RECOGNITION OF FOREST RIGHTS FOR TRIBALS

1992. Shri Sudama Prasad:

Shri Amra Ram:

Shri Kodikunnil Suresh:

## Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  is  aware  of  the  status  of  implementation  of  the  Scheduled  Tribes  and Other  Traditional  Forest  Dwellers  (Recognition  of  Forest  Rights)  Act,  2006  and  if  so,  the  details thereof, State/UT-wise;
- (b) the number of applications - individual and community - received by the Government for grant of  pattas  under  the  Forest  Rights  Act  (FRA)  and  the  number  of  applications  out  of  them  accepted, rejected and pending during the last five years, year and State/UT-wise;
- (c) whether the Government is contemplating to reconsider the rejected applications, if so, the details thereof along with the time by which it is likely to be done and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (d) the action being contemplated by the Government against forest and other department officials who are evicting Adivasis and other traditional forest dwellers in the name of illegality;
- (e) the total land area distributed to beneficiaries in Kerala under the said Act and the number of ST families who have received legal entitlements;
- (f)  whether  any  bottlenecks,  administrative  delays  or  legal  disputes  have  been  reported  in  Kerala regarding  the  implementation  of  the  Act  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  steps  taken  to address them; and

(g) the major benefits availed by forest-dwelling communities in Kerala under the Forest Rights Act including access to livelihood schemes, welfare entitlements and community resource management?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SHRI DURGA DAS UIKEY)

(a)  &  (b):  As  per  the  provisions  of  'Scheduled  Tribes  And  Other  Traditional  Forest  Dwellers (Recognition  Of  Forest  Rights)  Act,  2006'  and  Rules  made  thereunder,  the  State  Governments  are responsible for implementation of various provisions of the FRA, which is being implemented in 20 States  and  1  UT.  Ministry  of  Tribal  Affairs  monitors  Monthly  Progress  Reports  submitted  by  the States/UTs. As reported by States/UTs, cumulatively till 31st May 2025, a total of 51,23,104 claims have  been  filed  at  Gram  Sabha  Level,  comprising  49,11,495  individual  and  2,11,609  community claims.  Out  of  which  a  total  of  25,11,375  (49.02%)  titles  were  distributed,  comprising  23,89,670 individual and 1,21,705 community titles. A total of 18,62,056 (36.35%) claims have been rejected and 749,673  (14.63%) claims have been pending for disposal. The  State  wise  details  are  at Annexure. However, , The State/UT wise details in the form of Monthly Progress Report for the last 5 years are available on this Ministry's website -  https://tribal.nic.in/FRA.aspx.

(c):   As per the directions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in 2019 in Writ Petition 108/2008 to Chief Secretaries , all States have to complete the exercise of review of rejection of claims in a time-bound manner. MoTA has asked states in various review meetings and through letters to inter alia  have the meetings of the State Level Monitoring Committee (SLMC), to be chaired by Chief Secretary, at least once in three months, to monitor the implementation process  of FRA and also to review the rejected claims  as  per  extant  procedures.   MoTA  has  been  exhorting  all  State  Governments  to  abide  by  the provisions contained in FRA and ensure that all eligible claimants are provided the rights which are due to them.

(d):   FRA  provides  safeguards  against  forced  eviction.  Section  4(5)  of  FRA  provides  that  Save  as otherwise  provided,  no  member  of  a  forest  dwelling  Scheduled  Tribe  or  other  traditional  forest dwellers shall be evicted or removed from the forest land under his occupation till the recognition and verification procedure is complete. There is a provision of petition by aggrieved persons to SDLC and DLC  [Section  6(2)  and  6(4)  of  FRA].  The  grievances  /representations  received  in  the  Ministry regarding violation of FRA (including eviction) are forwarded to the State / UTs concerned, to ensure that legitimate claimants are not denied their forest rights. Further to resolve field level issues with the Forest department, the MoTA has also issued two joint advisories with the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change dated 14.03.2024 and 06.07.2021.

(e):  As informed by the State Government of Kerala, a total of 29,422 beneficiaries have been given Individual Forest Rights to 38,794.10 Acres of land.

(f):    State Government of Kerala has informed that there are no legal disputes, administrative delays, or other bottlenecks related to the implementation of the Forest Rights Act in Kerala.

(g):       In  order  to  accelerate  benefit  of  various  schemes  to  the  forest  right  holders  in  full  measure, Ministry under scheme of Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DA-JGUA), has inter alia taken several initiatives like  Mapping of Potential Area under FRA, digitization  of legacy data and claim process, support to Gram Sabha for preparation and execution of Community Forest Resource Rights (CFR) Management Plans and setting up dedicated FRA cells at the State and district/subdivision  levels,  for  a  period  of  two  years  to  facilitate  the  settlement  claim  process  under FRA. Under DA-JGUA, Ministry also supports FRA patta holders through convergence with several schemes of Department of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries where the respective scheme guidelines have been modified to limit the beneficiary contribution, to only 10 % wherever needed.

For the state Government of Kerala, MoTA has approved an amount of Rs. 129.89 Lakhs for setting up FRA Cells at State and at 12 districts level, as per the proposal received from Kerala. Further, State Government  of  Kerala  has  informed  that  District  Collectors  have  been  directed  to  convert  the Scheduled Tribe areas which have been granted individual forest rights under the Forest Rights Act, into revenue villages. Livelihood schemes are being implemented through the schemes of the Central Government,  PM-JANMAN  and  DA-JGUA,  and  other  schemes  of  the  State  Government,  in collaboration with other state departments or independently.

Statement of Claims and Distribution of title deeds, Details of claims disposed of, rejected  claims  and  pending  claims  under  'The  Scheduled  Tribes  and  Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006' reported by States/UT as on 31.05.2025:

| S. No.   | States           | No. of Claims received upto 31.05.2025   | No. of Claims received upto 31.05.2025   | No. of Claims received upto 31.05.2025   | No. of Titles Distributed upto 31.05.2025   | No. of Titles Distributed upto 31.05.2025   | No. of Titles Distributed upto 31.05.2025   | No. of Claims Rejected   | Total No. of Claims Disposed off   | %Claims disposed off with respect to claims received   | Total No. of Claims Pending   |
|----------|------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|--------------------------|------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------|
| S. No.   | States           |                                          | IndividualCommunityTotal                 |                                          |                                             | IndividualCommunityTotal                    |                                             | No. of Claims Rejected   | Total No. of Claims Disposed off   | %Claims disposed off with respect to claims received   | Total No. of Claims Pending   |
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh   | 285,098                                  | 3,294 288,392                            |                                          | 226,651                                     | 1,822                                       | 228,473                                     | 58,410                   | 286,883                            | 99.48%                                                 | 1,509                         |
| 2        | Assam            | 148,965                                  | 6,046                                    | 155,011                                  | 57,325                                      | 1,477                                       | 58,802                                      | NA/NR                    | 58,802                             | 37.93%                                                 | 96,209                        |
| 3        | Bihar            | 4,696                                    | 0                                        | 4,696                                    | 191                                         | 0                                           | 191                                         | 4,496                    | 4,687                              | 99.81%                                                 | 9                             |
| 4        | Chhattisgarh     | 890,220                                  | 57,259                                   | 947,479                                  | 481,432                                     | 52,636                                      | 534,068                                     | 406,787                  | 940,855                            | 99.30%                                                 | 6,624                         |
| 5        | Goa              | 9,757                                    | 379                                      | 10,136                                   | 856                                         | 15                                          | 871                                         | 447                      | 1,318                              | 13.00%                                                 | 8,818                         |
| 6        | Gujarat          | 183,055                                  | 7,187                                    | 190,242                                  | 98,732                                      | 4,792                                       | 103,524                                     | 2,331                    | 105,855                            | 55.64%                                                 | 84,387                        |
| 7        | Himachal Pradesh | 4,883                                    | 683                                      | 5,566                                    | 662                                         | 146                                         | 808                                         | 54                       | 862                                | 15.49%                                                 | 4,704                         |
| 8        | Jharkhand        | 107,032                                  | 3,724                                    | 110,756                                  | 59,866                                      | 2,104                                       | 61,970                                      | 28,107                   | 90,077                             | 81.33%                                                 | 20,679                        |
| 9        | Karnataka        | 288,549                                  | 5,940                                    | 294,489                                  | 14,981                                      | 1,345                                       | 16,326                                      | 253,269                  | 269,595                            | 91.55%                                                 | 24,894                        |
| 10       | Kerala           | 44,455                                   | 1,014                                    | 45,469                                   | 29,422                                      | 282                                         | 29,704                                      | 12,835                   | 42,539                             | 93.56%                                                 | 2,930                         |
| 11       | Madhya Pradesh   | 585,326                                  | 42,187                                   | 627,513                                  | 266,901                                     | 27,976                                      | 294,877                                     | 322,407                  | 617,284                            | 98.37%                                                 | 10,229                        |
| 12       | Maharashtra      | 397,897                                  | 11,259                                   | 409,156                                  | 199,667                                     | 8,668                                       | 208,335                                     | 172,631                  | 380,966                            | 93.11%                                                 | 28,190                        |
| 13       | Odisha           | 701,148                                  | 35,024                                   | 736,172                                  | 462,067                                     | 8,832                                       | 470,899                                     | 144,636                  | 615,535                            | 83.61%                                                 | 120,637                       |
| 14       | Rajasthan        | 113,162                                  | 5,213                                    | 118,375                                  | 49,215                                      | 2,551                                       | 51,766                                      | 65,921                   | 117,687                            | 99.42%                                                 | 688                           |
| 15       | Tamil Nadu       | 33,119                                   | 1,548                                    | 34,667                                   | 15,442                                      | 1,066                                       | 16,508                                      | 12,711                   | 29,219                             | 84.28%                                                 | 5,448                         |
| 16       | Telangana        | 651,822                                  | 3,427                                    | 655,249                                  | 230,735                                     | 721                                         | 231,456                                     | 94,426                   | 325,882                            | 49.73%                                                 | 329,367                       |
| 17       | Tripura          | 200,557                                  | 164                                      | 200,721                                  | 127,931                                     | 101                                         | 128,032                                     | 68,848                   | 196,880                            | 98.09%                                                 | 3,841                         |
| 18       | Uttar Pradesh    | 92,972                                   | 1,194                                    | 94,166                                   | 22,537                                      | 893                                         | 23,430                                      | 70,736                   | 94,166                             | 100.00%                                                | 0                             |
| 19       | Uttarakhand      | 3,587                                    | 3,091                                    | 6,678                                    | 184                                         | 1                                           | 185                                         | 6,493                    | 6,678                              | 100.00%                                                | 0                             |
| 20       | West Bengal      | 131,962                                  | 10,119                                   | 142,081                                  | 44,444                                      | 686                                         | 45,130                                      | 96,587                   | 141,717                            | 99.74%                                                 | 364                           |
| 21       | Jammu & Kashmir  | 33,233                                   | 12,857                                   | 46,090                                   | 429                                         | 5,591                                       | 6,020                                       | 39,924                   | 45,944                             | 99.68%                                                 | 146                           |
| TOTAL    | TOTAL            | 4,911,495                                | 211,609                                  | 5,123,104                                | 2,389,670                                   | 121,705                                     |                                             |                          | 2,511,3751,862,0564,373,431        | 85.37%                                                 | 749,673                       |

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