Lok Sabha Question No. 64 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-11-30
Subject: Rights of Genuine Claiments under Forest Rights Act
Ministry: TRIBAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: PONGULETI SRINIVASA REDDY

## RIGHTS OF GENUINE CLAIMENTS UNDER FOREST RIGHTS ACT

## 64:       SHRI PONGULETI SRINIVASA REDDY:

Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a)   whether the intended benefit under the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 have been given to the forest dwelling communities;
- (b)    if so, the details thereof including the number of claims for distribution of titles received under the Act and the number of titles out of them distributed, rejected and still pending including the total number of claims disposed off/ percentage, with respect to claims received State/UT-wise and the factors which are impending effective implementation of the Act;
- (c)   whether the provisions of the Act has not been implemented in many States including Karnataka; and
- (d)  if so, the details thereof indicating the implementation status thereof, State/UT-wise along with the steps taken by the Government to expedite the implementation of the legislation?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SHRI MANSUKHBHAI DHANJIBHAI VASAVA)

(a) The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (Forest Rights Act in short) was enacted with the objective of remedying the historical injustice done  to  the  forest  dwelling  Scheduled  Tribes  and  other  traditional  forest  dwellers.  The  Act  has substantially met this mandate through distribution of 17,02,047 titles to the eligible claimants under the Act till 30 th September, 2015.

(b), (c) & (d) The details are given in the annex. Only those tribals and other traditional forest dwellers are entitled to receive forest rights who fulfill the eligibility criteria as stipulated in the Forest Rights Act. This Act aims at vesting Forest Rights on all eligible tribals and other traditional forest dwellers, which is an ongoing process. The responsibility for implementing the Forest Rights Act lies with the state/  UT  Governments.  The  provisions  of  the  Forest  Rights  Act  have  been  implemented  in  the States/UTs including Karnataka. However, in the State of Tamil Nadu, the implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 has not been possible so far owing to the stay granted by the Hon'ble High Court. The Ministry  has  been  interacting  with  all  the  State/UT  Governments  regularly  urging  them  to  take  all necessary steps for expeditious implementation of the Act. The Ministry also issues directives, advisories and  clarifications  as  and  when  required.  Review  meetings  with  the  concerned  officers  of  the  State Government and UT Administrations are being held at regular intervals. Forest Rights Act has also been taken up in Campaign mode for its implementation in a time bound manner in many States including Karnataka.

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Annexure referred to in reply to parts (b), (c) & (d) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 64 for 30.11.2015 asked by Shri Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy regarding "Rights of Genuine Claiments under Forest Rights Act"

## Statement of Claims and distribution of title deeds under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 as on 30.09.2015

|   S. No. | States              | No. of Claims received   | No. of Titles Distributed   | No. of Claims Rejected   | Total No. of Claims Disposed off   | No. of Claims Pending   | %Claims disposed off with respect to claims received   |
|----------|---------------------|--------------------------|-----------------------------|--------------------------|------------------------------------|-------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|
|        1 | Andhra Pradesh      | 411,012                  | 169,370                     | 165,466                  | 334,836                            | 76,176                  | 81.47%                                                 |
|        2 | Arunachal Pradesh   | 0                        | 0                           | 0                        | 0                                  | 0                       |                                                        |
|        3 | Assam               | 131,911                  | 36,267                      | 37,669                   | 73,936                             | 57,975                  | 56.05%                                                 |
|        4 | Bihar               | 8,022                    | 222                         | 4,102                    | 4,324                              | 3,698                   | 53.90%                                                 |
|        5 | Chhattisgarh        | 860,364                  | 347,789                     | 507,907                  | 860,364                            | 0                       | 100.00%                                                |
|        6 | Goa                 | 0                        | 0                           | 0                        | 0                                  | 0                       |                                                        |
|        7 | Gujarat             | 190,097                  | 76,845                      | 0                        | 78,928                             | 111,169                 | 41.52%                                                 |
|        8 | Himachal Pradesh    | 5,692                    | 346                         | 2,162                    | 2,508                              | 3,184                   | 44.06%                                                 |
|        9 | Jharkhand           | 83,553                   | 43,125                      | 25,446                   | 69,167                             | 14,386                  | 82.78%                                                 |
|       10 | Karnataka           | 372,229                  | 8,303                       | 188,050                  | 196,353                            | 175,876                 | 52.75%                                                 |
|       11 | Kerala              | 37,535                   | 24,599                      | 7,889                    | 32,488                             | 5,047                   | 86.55%                                                 |
|       12 | Madhya Pradesh      | 602,501                  | 214,656                     | 364,059                  | 595,975                            | 6,526                   | 98.92%                                                 |
|       13 | Maharashtra         | 353,169                  | 109,292                     | 229,794                  | 339,086                            | 14,083                  | 96.01%                                                 |
|       14 | Manipur             | 0                        | 0                           | 0                        | 0                                  | 0                       |                                                        |
|       15 | Meghalaya           | 0                        | 0                           | 0                        | 0                                  | 0                       |                                                        |
|       16 | Mizoram             | 0                        | 0                           | 0                        | 0                                  | 0                       |                                                        |
|       17 | Nagaland            | 0                        | 0                           | 0                        | 0                                  | 0                       |                                                        |
|       18 | Odisha              | 610,992                  | 352,172                     | 157,527                  | 539,762                            | 71,230                  | 88.34%                                                 |
|       19 | Rajasthan           | 69,775                   | 34,848                      | 33,591                   | 68,464                             | 1,311                   | 98.12%                                                 |
|       20 | Sikkim              | 0                        | 0                           | 0                        | 0                                  | 0                       |                                                        |
|       21 | Tamil Nadu          | 21,781                   | 3,723                       | 0                        | 3,723                              | 18,058                  | 17.09%                                                 |
|       22 | Telangana           | 215,370                  | 100,230                     | 101,368                  | 201,598                            | 13,772                  | 93.61%                                                 |
|       23 | Tripura             | 191,653                  | 122,583                     | 65,900                   | 188,483                            | 3,170                   | 98.35%                                                 |
|       24 | Uttar Pradesh       | 93,644                   | 18,555                      | 74,768                   | 93,323                             | 321                     | 99.66%                                                 |
|       25 | Uttarakhand         | 182                      | 0                           | 1                        | 1                                  | 181                     | 0.55%                                                  |
|       26 | West Bengal         | 142,081                  | 39,122                      | 91,262                   | 130,384                            | 11,697                  | 91.77%                                                 |
|       27 | A & N Islands       | 0                        | 0                           | 0                        | 0                                  | 0                       |                                                        |
|       28 | Daman &Diu          | 0                        | 0                           | 0                        | 0                                  | 0                       |                                                        |
|       29 | Dadar &Nagar Haveli | 0                        | 0                           | 0                        | 0                                  | 0                       |                                                        |

| Total   | 4,401,563   | 1,702,047   | 2,056,961   | 3,813,703   | 587,860   | 86.64%   |
|---------|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|-----------|----------|