Lok Sabha Question No. 949 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-05
Subject: Individual and Community Forest Rights Claims
Ministry: TRIBAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Shri Rahul Singh Lodhi, Shri Mahesh Kashyap, Shri Tapir Gao, Smt. Himadri Singh, Shri Bhojraj Nag, Smt. Smita Uday Wagh, Shri Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat, Shri Godam Nagesh, Shri Naba Charan Majhi, Dr. Rajesh Mishra, Shri Balabhadra Majhi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 949

To Be Answered On- 05/02/2026

## INDIVIDUAL AND COMMUNITY FOREST RIGHTS CLAIMS

†949. Shri Rahul Singh Lodhi:

Shri Mahesh Kashyap:

Shri Tapir Gao:

Smt. Himadri Singh:

Shri Bhojraj Nag:

Smt. Smita Uday Wagh:

Shri Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri:

Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat:

Shri Godam Nagesh:

Shri Naba Charan Majhi:

Dr. Rajesh Mishra:

Shri Balabhadra Majhi:

Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of individual and community forest rights claims disposed of during the last three years, Statewise;
- (b) the number of claims rejected during the said period and the primary grounds for rejection, along with details of appeals provided to affected claimants from said areas;
- (c) whether district-level committees have been directed to review long-pending or previously rejected claims, particularly in tribal and forest-dominated districts;
- (d) if so, the status of such reviews, State-wise, with special reference to Maharashtra, Telangana and Odisha, district-wise; and
- (e)  the  role  being  played  by  the  Ministry  of  Tribal  Affairs  to  ensure  uniform  interpretation  and  effective implementation of the provisions of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) by the States, along with the safeguards in place to prevent eviction of eligible forest dwellers until the claim process is fully completed?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b): As per the provisions of 'The 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 Act and are being implemented in 20 States and 1 UT. Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) monitors the Monthly Progress Reports (MPR) submitted by States/UTs.

As per the latest information reported by the States and collated under MPR as on 31.12.2025, a total of 44,33,940 (85.40%) claims have been settled (decision taken), comprising 42,56,845 individuals and 1,77,095 community claims. Further, during the last three years, i.e. from 01.01.2023 to 01.01.2026, a total of 4,43,247 claims have been settled (decision taken), comprising 4,10,135 individual and 33,112 community claims. A statement showing state wise details of claims settled along with details of claims filed, titles distributed and claims rejected during the last three years is at Annexure .

As reported by States/UTs, cumulatively till 31st December 2025, a total of 18,90,360 (36.41%) claims have been rejected, comprising 18,36,594 individual and 53,766 community claims. And  during  the  last  three years, a total of 1,60,715 claims have been rejected.

Based on the information received from the State Governments of Odisha, Karnataka, West Bengal, the primary grounds for rejection of claims are - claimed land not occupied before 13th December 2005, duplicate claims filed on the same land, claims on Non-Forest Land, lack of evidence, OTFD could not prove 3 generations of residence, etc. Further, the State Government and UT Administration have not provided information on Appeals on claims.

(c) & (d): Ministry of Tribal Affairs has asked states in various review meetings and through letters to consider the claims under FRA in a time bound manner and engage with districts to resolve bottlenecks, if any, in settling of claims. Further, to enhance the comprehensive implementation of the FRA, MoTA has been providing support to the districts by setting up dedicated FRA cells at the State and District/ Subdivision levels, for a period of two years.  Further,  a  DC/DM  National  Conference  was  held  in  January,  2025,  where  DC/DMs  of  87  districts (including those from Maharashtra, Telangana and Odisha), officials from States/Line Ministries participated. The district  wise  progress  of  FRA  implementation  was  reviewed  and  participant  DM/DC  were  requested  to dispose of all pending FRA Claims.

(e): The Ministry of Tribal Affairs, being the Nodal Ministry for Monitoring and administering the legislative matters of FRA, by exercising power under Section 12 of the Act, has been issuing directions and guidelines from time to time on various aspects to ensure uniform interpretation and effective implementation of the provisions of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) by the States. The Ministry has been exhorting all State Governments to abide by the provisions contained in the FRA and ensure that all eligible claimants are provided the rights which are due to them. 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 process of recognition, verification and vesting of forest rights, consider and address the field level problems.

Further, the FRA provides provisions for a safeguard against eviction through the provisions contained in Section 4(5) and also provision of petition by the aggrieved to SDLC and DLC (Section 6(2) and 6(4)). State Governments have been advised to ensure that the interests of the Scheduled Tribes are properly safeguarded in accordance with constitutional provisions and various laws designed to provide safeguards for the STs.

Annexure   referred  to  in  reply  to  part  (a)   &  (b)  of  Lok  Sabha  Unstarred Question No. 949 to be answered On- 05.02.2026 regarding 'Individual and Community Forest Rights Claims': State wise details of claims filed, titles distributed, rejected and settled claims during last three years period (01.01.2023 to 01.01.2026), as per information received from States/ UT:

| S. No.   | States/UT        | No. of Claims filed during 01.01.2023 to 01.01.2026   | No. of Claims filed during 01.01.2023 to 01.01.2026   | No. of Claims filed during 01.01.2023 to 01.01.2026   | No. of Titles Distributed during 01.01.2023 to 01.01.2026   | No. of Titles Distributed during 01.01.2023 to 01.01.2026   | No. of Titles Distributed during 01.01.2023 to 01.01.2026   | No. of Claims Rejected   | Total No. of Claims Disposed   |
|----------|------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------------|
| S. No.   | States/UT        |                                                       | IndividualCommunity                                   | Total                                                 |                                                             | IndividualCommunity                                         | Total                                                       | No. of Claims Rejected   | off                            |
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh   | 3,684                                                 | 0                                                     | 3,684                                                 | 8,686                                                       | 0                                                           | 8,686                                                       | 3,040                    | 11,726                         |
| 2        | Assam            | 32,000                                                | 1,501                                                 | 33,501                                                | 27,536                                                      | 1,098                                                       | 28,634                                                      | 16,379                   | 45,013                         |
| 3        | Bihar            | -3,326                                                | 0                                                     | -3,326                                                | 70                                                          | 0                                                           | 70                                                          | 281                      | 351                            |
| 4        | Chhattisgarh     | 13,047                                                | 6,271                                                 | 19,318                                                | 24,287                                                      | 6,671                                                       | 30,958                                                      | 7,745                    | 38,703                         |
| 5        | Goa              | 200                                                   | 10                                                    | 210                                                   | 556                                                         | 6                                                           | 562                                                         | 1,248                    | 1,810                          |
| 6        | Gujarat          | 186                                                   | 0                                                     | 186                                                   | 7,046                                                       | 195                                                         | 7,241                                                       | -56,966                  | -49,725                        |
| 7        | Himachal Pradesh | 3,185                                                 | 589                                                   | 3,774                                                 | 754                                                         | 113                                                         | 867                                                         | 8                        | 875                            |
| 8        | Jharkhand        | 0                                                     | 0                                                     | 0                                                     | 0                                                           | 0                                                           | 0                                                           | 0                        | 0                              |
| 9        | Karnataka        | 3,362                                                 | 78                                                    | 3,440                                                 | 572                                                         | 1                                                           | 573                                                         | 15,467                   | 16,040                         |
| 10       | Kerala           | 566                                                   | 74                                                    | 640                                                   | 1,785                                                       | 92                                                          | 1,877                                                       | 633                      | 2,510                          |
| 11       | Madhya Pradesh   | 0                                                     | 0                                                     | 0                                                     | 292                                                         | 0                                                           | 292                                                         | -292                     | 0                              |
| 12       | Maharashtra      | 35,218                                                | -778                                                  | 34,440                                                | 34,635                                                      | 1,584                                                       | 36,219                                                      | 127,106                  | 163,325                        |
| 13       | Odisha           | 102,953                                               | 21,347                                                | 124,300                                               | 9,875                                                       | 1,646                                                       | 11,521                                                      | 4,109                    | 15,630                         |
| 14       | Rajasthan        | 1,877                                                 | 2,516                                                 | 4,393                                                 | 700                                                         | 1,958                                                       | 2,658                                                       | 2,840                    | 5,498                          |
| 15       | Tamil Nadu       | -636                                                  | 466                                                   | -170                                                  | 7,298                                                       | 616                                                         | 7,914                                                       | 3,218                    | 11,132                         |
| 16       | Telangana        | 447,646                                               | 619                                                   | 448,265                                               | 133,301                                                     | 619                                                         | 133,920                                                     | 0                        | 133,920                        |
| 17       | Tripura          | 0                                                     | 0                                                     | 0                                                     | 0                                                           | 0                                                           | 0                                                           | 0                        | 0                              |
| 18       | Uttar Pradesh    | 395                                                   | 32                                                    | 427                                                   | 4,488                                                       | 32                                                          | 4,520                                                       | -4,025                   | 495                            |
| 19       | Uttarakhand      | 0                                                     | 0                                                     | 0                                                     | 0                                                           | 0                                                           | 0                                                           | 0                        | 0                              |
| 20       | West Bengal      | 0                                                     | 0                                                     | 0                                                     | 0                                                           | 0                                                           | 0                                                           | 0                        | 0                              |
| 21       | Jammu & Kashmir  | 33,233                                                | 12,857                                                | 46,090                                                | 429                                                         | 5,591                                                       | 6,020                                                       | 39,924                   | 45,944                         |
| TOTAL    | TOTAL            | 673,590                                               | 45,582                                                | 719,172                                               | 262,310                                                     | 20,222                                                      | 282,532                                                     | 160,715                  | 443,247                        |

(Certain States reported negative FRA progress during the period but have submitted clarifications and rectified figures)

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