Put forest land info on website for tribals' benefit, CIC tells govt

The state chief information commissioner (CIC) on Tuesday directed the government to publish information on more than 5,000 acres of forest land in two talukas on its website.

This information should also be provided individually to every tribal in the Jawahar and Taluka areas, in whose possession the land should be, in two months, the CIC, Ratnakar Gaikwad, said.

The directive was issued to the revenue department and the additional collectors of the talukas.

The CIC also ordered a compensation of Rs2,000 to each tribal for making them go for second appeals.

Ten tribals had gone for a second appeal when the public information officer (PIO) failed to provide details about their land titleship documents. Gaikwad’s order also asked why the PIO should not be fined.

Close to 1,272 tribals in the two talukas had sought information after they failed to get the documents of their land records or, despite getting it, their land area shrunk considerably.

“As per the Forest Rights Act 2006, the government started recognising the land titles of tribals who have been dwelling/cultivating/farming the land for generations. Though these tribals have not yet been asked to vacate their land, the government is not recognising their land titles,” said Milind Thatte of Vayam, an organisation that is helping tribals with their land titles.

“For a while we have been asking the government to give us papers on our land title. But we haven’t received any information,” said Jayaram Toke, a Warli tribal who had come for an RTI hearing.