Under the new guidelines, degraded forests can be handed over to private companies and also permission of "gram sabha" shall be no longer necessary, for setting up projects.
After successfully forcing the central government to withdraw amendments in the Land Acquisition Bill, main Opposition Congress is now out to cash in on the guidelines and circulars issued over past 18 months aimed at synchronizing the Forests Rights Act (FRA) with "ease of business".
Under the new guidelines, degraded forests can be handed over to private companies and also permission of "gram sabha" shall be no longer necessary, for setting up projects. Senior party leader and spokesperson Jairam Ramesh on Friday said the party was launching a nationwide campaign to force government to withdraw new guidelines as well as to project Modi government anti-tribal. Next week, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has summoned all state unit chiefs to Delhi to formulate a strategy for the campaign and also review implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MG NREGA) exactly a decade after its implementation. The party hopes the latest campaign will also emulate the buzz as the anti-land bill amendments had created, forcing the government their withdrawal, lest being dubbed as anti-farmer.
Since 2006, when the FRA was adopted, about 16.7 lakh forest dwellers, predominantly tribals, have received legal land titles. Each 'patta' is about 4 acres. These also include 30,000 community forest resource rights. As many as 60% of these rights have been issues in Odisha and Tripura, leaving even the Congress rules states faltering.
Menda Lekha, a tribal village in Maoist-affected Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra, had become a national symbol of empowerment of the gram sabha when it was handed over control of bamboo from the forest department in 2011. For three years, it posted an annual income of Rs 1 crore. Ramesh said the village was now protesting, as the rights have been returned to to the forest department once again.
Further, the actions include notification of rules under the colonial Indian Forest Act, guidelines for privatisation of forests, diversion of forest lands without the consent of the gram sabhas, and massive plantation in tribal lands by overruling the FRA. "These moves have greatly affected the early gains made by the FRA in empowering the tribals and even halted the process of implementation in many states. All these exhibit an intolerance towards the democratic governance of forests in the country and the protective legislations enacted after a long struggle by the tribal and forest dwellers," he said.
The Central government guidelines are set to open up 40 percent of the forests in India for private sector. The guidelines specify that, aside from fodder, local communities' rights will be restricted to "10-15%" of the allotted plots.
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