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Activist up against FRA act dilution

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Angry over the latest directive of the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) that dilutes the Forest Rights (FRA) Act 2006, a group of over 300 social environmental and tribal activists and organisation are now planning to approach the Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighting the illegality of the environment ministry's order.

The activists also plan to approach courts later if their plea at the central government level is not heard.

"Most standing plantations presently being worked under various working plans of the forest department have come up after this cut-off date (1930). Which means most forest areas in eastern, central, north and south India will not support any OTFD rights, and these can be thus handed over to the corporations without hassles," said Soumitra Ghosh of the All India Forum of Forest Movements (AIFFM).

Activists believe the MoEF order would result in acres of forest area being diverted for industrial projects. Prominent activists like Tushar Dash said the MoEF's order is direct violation of FRA act and even the order of Supreme Court in the Vedanta mining case.

"This new order is a direct violation of the FRA Act, directions issued by the tribal affairs ministry as well as the Supreme Court order in the Vedanta case last year which upheld the authority of gram sabha and statutory rights provide under the FRA Act," Dash told dna.

Activists rue that MoEF has simply taken advantage from simple reading of the law and they are expecting more such letters and directives from MoEF to dilute various provisions of FRA Act 2006 which at least promises justice to forest dwellers and tribals.

The activists have decided to send a comprehensive rebuttal to PM on the issue but if government remains adamant on it they plan to approach courts against it. Many of the activists, however, don't have high hopes from PM as they believe PM himself during run up to 2014 elections had talked about easing green clearance norms to encourage industry for India's growth.

The MoEF directive has been sent to all state governments, Prime Minister's Office and all other major infrastructure ministries in the NDA government. The MoEF order of October 28, 2014 basically exempts proposals seeking diversion "of plantations which were notified as forest" from the requirement of "initiation and completion of process for recognition and vesting of forest rights of scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers". It then goes on to say that in such case certifying letters from district collectors would be enough for diversion of land.

In simple terms, it would empower a district Collector to claim that there is no need to implement the FRA Act in a particular area. The MoEF letter also mentions that linear projects like – roads, canals, pipelines, optical fibres or power transmission lines - are exempted from seeking Gram Sabhas consent.

It is the gram sabha under the FRA Act 2006, which is the authority to initiate this process. Under FRA Act 2006, gram sabhas are empowered to give consent for diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes like setting up of industrial projects and that has been the problem area for industries in India.

The MoEF order eases the way for corporates and frees them from getting consent from village councils which in most cases deny permission.

Meanwhile, as per tribal affairs ministry's repeated clarifications this may also be termed illegal. It issued a note in March 2014 explicitly mentioning that no exemptions from FRA compliance are permitted. In its latest rebuke to MoEF, tribal affairs ministry in a letter on October 21 to MoEF, stated that, "no government agency has been vested with powers to exempt application of the (FRA) Act in part or full".

The tribal affair ministry also warned that, "any action or process inconsistent with the due process laid under the (FRA) Act would be legally untenable and is likely to be struck down by the court of law. Orissa Mining Corporation vs MoEF of 2013 is a case in point."

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