4 Forest Rights Committees (FRCs) of Gram Panchayat Kandral in Baijnath submitted their Individual and community claims under Forest Rights Act 2006 (FRA) to the SDM today. The FRCs carried out a rigorous verification process over a period of one year with the support of a local people’s organisation, Kisan Sabha Baijnath. The group has already helped 32 FRCs in the region in the claim filling process since 2012, the highest in a single sub-division. “28 files that were approved at the Sub divisional level are pending with the District Level Committee since for approval”, said Pavana Kumari an activist of Kisan Sabha Baijnath. The Forest Rights Committees in the subdivision have laid community claims to a total of 32,377 hectares so far.
The issue of recognition of local communities forest rights under FRA has been contentious with the State government dragging its feet on the same. Himachal is one of the seven states in India, which according to the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs, is lagging in FRA implementation. The Shimla High Court orders to evict ‘encroachers’ on forest land before 28th February 2017 has further pitched the odds against those who have occupations on forest land. On the contrary the FRA, provides the scope for legal recognition of individual claims (provided they fit the eligibility criteria) on forest land. The FRA has been a landmark and progressive legislation in favour of rural & forest dependent communities.
