Give details of those in forests facing eviction: Centre to states

Tribal Affairs Ministry Wants To Know Number Of Land Claims Rejected

In the backdrop of a Supreme Court order, the Centre has written to state governments seeking details of tribals and non-tribals who face eviction on account of rejection of claims to land patta (ownership document) as per provisions of the Forest Rights Act, 2006. An official source said the next course of action with regard to eviction of those unable to establish claims on the basis of being tribals or forest dwellers will be considered once the number of affected persons is established. If this turns out to be very large, the government may have to explore options even if claims have not been proved or involve non-tribals. Ministry of tribal affairs secretary Deepak Khandekar said the number of persons given pattas is known. “We know that about 19 lakh claims have been given patta. What is the exact status of the rest is what we have asked to know,” he said. Khandekar said states have been asked to reply with immediate effect. “The ministry may convene a meeting of states which work out how to deal with these cases and what will happen to those who face eviction,” he said. While forest rights groups accused the Centre of being silent in court, the SC order showed that additional solicitor general A Nadkarni and a team of lawyers represented the government. The MoTA secretary said lawyers representing the ministry were present in court but were not slated to make submissions, hence the question of not putting across the Centre’s point of view did not arise. Going by the ministry’s view, eviction is not an immediate threat but given the SC directions and lack of clarity on exact numbers, uncertainty shrouds many tribal and non-tribal families across states. “Any change in FRA provisions cannot happen at this stage as it will require approval of Parliament. So, only a new government will be able to take a decision if the law needs amendments,” said a source. On behalf of one of the petitioners Wildlife First, Praveen Bhargav told TOI, “The Supreme Court is presently focusing only on recovery of forest land from bogus claimants whose claims stand rejected. Such claimants continue to occupy a huge area of forest land, including within national parks and sanctuaries, even though their claims have been rejected after due verification and an appeals process.” Forest rights groups, however, countered by saying the apex court order was a major blow to the struggle of tribals and forest dwellers for justice. The next hearing is in July where states have to tell the status of those claims that have not been granted pattas. The questions to be answered involve how many claims are pending, how many are rejected and what is the status of those rejected

Source: Times of India, 22/02/2019