Uttar Pradesh gets its first revenue village under Forest Act

Rechristened as Gokulpur, Dafedaar Gaudi village in Uttar Pradesh's Behraich district has became the first tribal village in the state to be converted into a revenue village under the Forest Rights Act.

The move will help some 53 tribal families living their since past 80 years to avail government welfare and development schemes being implemented through village panchayats.

The district magistrate Rigzian Samphal yesterday distributed the registry deeds of agricultural land to 53 families of the village to start the process.

This is the first forest village in the state which has been converted into a revenue village, he said.

Jitendra Chaturvedi, the district coordinator of Dehat--an NGO working for getting forest rights restored for forest dwellers, said, forest dwellers living in such villages across the country are deprived of facilities like ration cards and other government schemes and jobs.

Following years of agitations, the Union government in 2006 passed Scheduled tribe and traditional forest dwellers (recognition of forest rights ) Act, which came into force in 2007.

"The Act would benefit lakhs of such forest dwellers all over the country," he said.