(1) This Act may be called the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006
(2) It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint..
(2) It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint..
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, -
(a) "community forest resource" means customary common forest land within the traditional or customary boundaries of the village or seasonal use of landscape in the case of pastoral communities, including reserved forests, protected forests and protected areas such as Sanctuaries and National Parks to which the community had traditional access;
(b) "critical wildlife habitat" means such areas of National Parks and Sanctuaries where it has been specifically and clearly established, case by case, on the basis of scientific and objective criteria, that such areas are required to be kept as inviolate for the purposes of wildlife conservation as may be determined and notified by the Central Government in the Ministry of Environment and Forests after open process of consultation by an Expert Committee, which includes experts from the locality appointed by that Government wherein a representative of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs shall also be included, in determining such areas according to the procedural requirements arising from sub-sections (1) and (2) of section 4;
(c) "forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes" means the members or community of the Scheduled Tribes who primarily reside in and who depend on the forests or forest lands for bona fide livelihood needs and includes the Scheduled Tribe pastoralist communities;
(d) "forest land" means land of any description falling within any forest area and includes unclassified forests, undermarcated forests, existing or deemed forests, protected forests, reserved forests, Sanctuaries and National Parks;
(e) "forest rights" means the forest rights referred to in section 3;
(f) "forest villages" means the settlements which have been established inside the forests by the forest department of any State Government for forestry operations or which were converted into forest villages through the forest reservation process and includes forest settlement villages, fixed demand holdings, all types of taungya settlements, by whatever name called, for such villages and includes lands for cultivation and other uses permitted by the Government;
(g) "Gram Sabha" means a village assembly which shall consist of all adult members of a village and in case of States having no Panchayats, Padas, Tolas and other traditional village institutions and elected village committees, with full and unrestricted participation of women;
(h) "habitat" includes the area comprising the customary habitat and such other habitats in reserved forests and protected forests of primitive tribal groups and pre-agricultural communities and other forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes;
(i) "minor forest produce" includes all non-timber forest produce of plant origin including bamboo, brush wood, stumps, cane, tussar, cocoons, honey, wax, lac, tendu or kendu leaves, medicinal plants and herbs, roots, tubers and the like;
(j) "nodal agency" means the nodal agency specified in section 11;
(k) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette;
(l) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(m) "Scheduled Areas" means the Scheduled Areas referred to in clause (l) of article 244 of the constitution;
(n) "sustainable use" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (o) of section 2 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002;
(o) "other traditional forest dweller" means any member or community who has for at least three generations prior to the 13th day of December, 2005 primarily resided in and who depend on the forest or forests land for bona fide livelihood needs. Explanation – For the purpose of this clause, "generation" means a period comprising of twenty-five years.
(p) "village" means –
(i) a village referred to in clause (b) of section 4 of the Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996; or
(ii) any area referred to as a village in any State law relating to Panchayats other than the Scheduled Areas; or
(iii) forest villages, old habitation or settlements and unsurveyed villages, whether notified as village or not; or
(iv) in the case of States where there are no Panchayats, the traditional village, by whatever name called;
(q) "wild animal" means any species of animal specified in Schedules I to IV of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and found wild in nature.
(a) "community forest resource" means customary common forest land within the traditional or customary boundaries of the village or seasonal use of landscape in the case of pastoral communities, including reserved forests, protected forests and protected areas such as Sanctuaries and National Parks to which the community had traditional access;
(b) "critical wildlife habitat" means such areas of National Parks and Sanctuaries where it has been specifically and clearly established, case by case, on the basis of scientific and objective criteria, that such areas are required to be kept as inviolate for the purposes of wildlife conservation as may be determined and notified by the Central Government in the Ministry of Environment and Forests after open process of consultation by an Expert Committee, which includes experts from the locality appointed by that Government wherein a representative of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs shall also be included, in determining such areas according to the procedural requirements arising from sub-sections (1) and (2) of section 4;
(c) "forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes" means the members or community of the Scheduled Tribes who primarily reside in and who depend on the forests or forest lands for bona fide livelihood needs and includes the Scheduled Tribe pastoralist communities;
(d) "forest land" means land of any description falling within any forest area and includes unclassified forests, undermarcated forests, existing or deemed forests, protected forests, reserved forests, Sanctuaries and National Parks;
(e) "forest rights" means the forest rights referred to in section 3;
(f) "forest villages" means the settlements which have been established inside the forests by the forest department of any State Government for forestry operations or which were converted into forest villages through the forest reservation process and includes forest settlement villages, fixed demand holdings, all types of taungya settlements, by whatever name called, for such villages and includes lands for cultivation and other uses permitted by the Government;
(g) "Gram Sabha" means a village assembly which shall consist of all adult members of a village and in case of States having no Panchayats, Padas, Tolas and other traditional village institutions and elected village committees, with full and unrestricted participation of women;
(h) "habitat" includes the area comprising the customary habitat and such other habitats in reserved forests and protected forests of primitive tribal groups and pre-agricultural communities and other forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes;
(i) "minor forest produce" includes all non-timber forest produce of plant origin including bamboo, brush wood, stumps, cane, tussar, cocoons, honey, wax, lac, tendu or kendu leaves, medicinal plants and herbs, roots, tubers and the like;
(j) "nodal agency" means the nodal agency specified in section 11;
(k) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette;
(l) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(m) "Scheduled Areas" means the Scheduled Areas referred to in clause (l) of article 244 of the constitution;
(n) "sustainable use" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (o) of section 2 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002;
(o) "other traditional forest dweller" means any member or community who has for at least three generations prior to the 13th day of December, 2005 primarily resided in and who depend on the forest or forests land for bona fide livelihood needs. Explanation – For the purpose of this clause, "generation" means a period comprising of twenty-five years.
(p) "village" means –
(i) a village referred to in clause (b) of section 4 of the Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996; or
(ii) any area referred to as a village in any State law relating to Panchayats other than the Scheduled Areas; or
(iii) forest villages, old habitation or settlements and unsurveyed villages, whether notified as village or not; or
(iv) in the case of States where there are no Panchayats, the traditional village, by whatever name called;
(q) "wild animal" means any species of animal specified in Schedules I to IV of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and found wild in nature.
(1) For the purposes of this Act, the following rights, which
secure individual or community tenure or both, shall be the
forest rights of forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other
traditional forest dwellers on all forest lands, namely:-
(i) the forest land to be diverted for the purposes mentioned in this subsection is less than one hectare in each case; and
(ii) the clearance of such developmental projects shall be subject to the condition that the same is recommended by the Gram Sabha.
- (a) right to hold and live in the forest land under the individual or common occupation for habitation or for self-cultivation for livelihood by a member or members of a forest dwelling Scheduled Tribe or other traditional forest dwellers;
- (b) community rights such as nistar, by whatever name called, including those used in erstwhile Princely States, Zamindari or such intermediary regimes;
- (c) right of ownership, access to collect, use, and dispose of minor forest produce which has been traditionally collected within or outside village boundaries;
- (d) other community rights of uses or entitlements such as fish and other products of water bodies, grazing (both settled or transhumant) and traditional seasonal resource access of nomadic or pastoralist communities;
- (e) rights including community tenures of habitat and habitation for primitive tribal groups and preagricultural communities;
- (f) rights in or over disputes lands under any nomenclature in any State where claims are disputed;
- (g) rights for conversion of Pattas or leases or grants issued by any local authority or any State Government on forest lands to titles;
- (h) rights of settlement and conversion of all forest villages, old habitation,unsurveyed villages and other villages in forests, whether recorded, notified or not into revenue villages;
- (i) rights to protect, regenerate or conserve or manage any community forest resource which they have been traditionally protecting and conserving for sustainable use;
- (j) rights which are recognised under any State law or laws of any Autonomous District Council or Autonomous Regional Council or which are accepted as rights of tribal under any traditional or customary law of the concerned tribes of any State;
- (k) right of access to biodiversity and community right to intellectual property and traditional knowledge related to biodiversity and cultural diversity;
- (l) any other traditional right customarily enjoyed by the forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes or other traditional forest dwellers, as the case may be, which are not mentioned in clauses (a) to (k) but excluding the traditional right of hunting or trapping or extracting a part of the body of any species of wild animal;
- (m) right to in situ rehabilitation including alternative land in cases where the Scheduled Tribes or other traditional forest dwellers have been illegally evicted or displaced from forest land of any description without receiving their legal entitlement to rehabilitation prior to the 13th day of December, 2005.
- (a) schools;
- (b) dispensary or hospital;
- (c) anganwadis;
- (d) fair price shops;
- (e) electric and telecommunication lines;
- (f) tanks and other minor water bodies;
- (g) drinking water supply and water pipelines;
- (h) water or rain water harvesting structures;
- (i) minor irrigation canals;
- (j) non-conventional source of energy;
- (k) skill up-gradation or vocational training centers;
- (l) roads; and
- (m) community centers:
(i) the forest land to be diverted for the purposes mentioned in this subsection is less than one hectare in each case; and
(ii) the clearance of such developmental projects shall be subject to the condition that the same is recommended by the Gram Sabha.
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for
the time being in force, and subject to the provisions of this
Act, the Central Government hereby recognises and vests
forest rights in –
(a) the forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes in States or areas
in States where they are declared as Scheduled Tribes
in respect of all forest rights mentioned in section 3;
(b) the other traditional forest dwellers in respect of all
forest rights mentioned in section 3.
(2) The forest rights recognised under this Act in critical
wildlife habitats of National Parks and Sanctuaries may
subsequently be modified or resettled, provided that
no forest rights holders shall be resettled or have their
rights in any manner affected for the purposes of creating
inviolate areas for wildlife conservation except in case all
the following conditions are satisfied, namely:-
- (a) the process of recognition and vesting of rights as specified in section 6 is complete in all the areas under consideration;
- (b) it has been established by the concerned agencies of the State Government, in exercise of their powers under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 that the activities or impact of the presence of holders of rights upon wild animals is sufficient to cause irreversible damage and threaten the existence of said species and their habitat;
- (c) the State Government has concluded that other reasonable options, such as, co-existence are not available;
- (d) a resettlement or alternatives package has been prepared and communicated that provides a secure livelihood for the affected individuals and communities and fulfils the requirements of such affected individuals and communities given in the relevant laws and the policy of the Central Government;
- (e) the free informed consent of the Gram Sabhas in the areas concerned to the proposed resettlement and to the package has been obtained in writing;
- (f) no resettlement shall take place until facilities and land allocation at the resettlement location are complete as per the promised package; Provided that the critical wildlife habitats from which rights holders are thus relocated for purposes of wildlife conservation shall not be subsequently diverted by the State Government or the Central Government or any other entity for other uses.
(3) The recognition and vesting of forest rights under this Act
to the forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and to other
traditional forest dwellers in relation to any State or Union
territory in respect of forest land and their habitat shall be
subject to the condition that such Scheduled Tribes or tribal
communities or other traditional forest dwellers had
occupied forest land before the 13th day of December, 2005.
(4) A right conferred by sub-section (1) shall be heritable but
not alienable or transferable and shall be registered jointly
in the name of both the spouses in case of married persons
and in the name of the single head in the case of a household
headed by a single person and in the absence of a direct
heir, the heritable right shall pass on to the next-of-kin.
(5) Save as otherwise provided, no member of a forest dwelling
Scheduled Tribe or other traditional forest dweller shall be
evicted or removed from forest land under his occupation
till the recognition and verification procedure is complete.
(6) Where the forest rights recognised and vested by subsection (1) are in respect of land mentioned in clause (a)
of sub-section (1) of section 3 such land shall be under the
occupation of an individual or family or community on the
date of commencement of this Act and shall be restricted to
the area under actual occupation and shall in no case exceed
an area of four hectares.
(7) The forest rights shall be conferred free of all encumbrances
and procedural requirements, including clearance under
the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, requirement of paying
the 'net present value' and 'compensatory afforestation' for
diversion of forest land, except those specified in this Act.
(8) The forest rights recognised and vested under this Act shall
include the right of land to forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes
and other traditional forest dwellers who can establish that
they were displaced from their dwelling and cultivation
without land compensation due to State development
interventions, and where the land has not been used for
the purpose for which it was acquired within five years of
the said acquisition.
The holders of any forest right, Gram Sabha and village level
institutions in areas where there are holders of any forest right
under this Act are empowered to -
(a) protect the wild life, forest and biodiversity;
(b) ensure that adjoining catchments area, water sources and other ecological sensitive areas are adequately protected;
(c) ensure that the habitat of forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers is preserved from any form of destructive practices affecting their cultural and natural heritage;
(d) ensure that the decisions taken in the Gram Sabha to regulate access to community forest resources and stop any activity which adversely affects the wild animals, forest and the biodiversity are complied with.
(a) protect the wild life, forest and biodiversity;
(b) ensure that adjoining catchments area, water sources and other ecological sensitive areas are adequately protected;
(c) ensure that the habitat of forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers is preserved from any form of destructive practices affecting their cultural and natural heritage;
(d) ensure that the decisions taken in the Gram Sabha to regulate access to community forest resources and stop any activity which adversely affects the wild animals, forest and the biodiversity are complied with.
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Sources
https://tribal.nic.in/FRA/data/FRARulesBook.pdf
Check
forest (conservation) act 2023 pdf
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