The Recovery of The Commons

1
The Recovery of The Commons the forest and her
peoples
2
Democratizing Forest Governance
A historical and political perspective
C.R.Bijoy
3
The Forest in 2005
4
Overlap
Tribal Areas
5

• Forest covered a large portion of the
  geographical area of the country in ancient
  times.
• .85 by some estimates !

6
(No Transcript)
7
But.. There are 188 tribal districts out of 626
districts in 26 States/UTs 33.57 of the
countrys total area. 60.11 (63 in 2003) are
forest which is 36.81 of total forest. There
are 124 Hill Districts in over 16 States and UTs
.with 38.85 forest. 2005 data And..76,600 sq
kms (twice the size of the State of Kerala) are
disputed between the Forest Department and
Revenue Department.
8
The Hill District of the northeast Arunachal
Pradesh Dibang Valley, East Kameng, West
Kameng, Lohit, East Siang, Lower Subansiri, Upper
Subansiri, Changlong, Papum Pare, Tawang, Upper
Siang, West Siang and Tirap. Tripura North
Tripura, South Tripura and West Tripura. Assam
North Cachar Hills, Karbionglong and
Naogaon. Manipur Imphal West, Senapati, Imphal
East, Churachandpur, Chandel, Bishnupur,
Tamenglong, Ukhrul and Thoubal. Meghalaya West
Garo Hills, Ri Bhoi, East Garo Hills, East Khasi
Hills, South Garo Hills, Jaintia Hills and West
Khasi Hills. Nagaland Dimapur, Zunebhoto, Mon,
Phek, Kohima, Mokochung, Wokha and Tuensang.
Sikkim East, West, North and South Sikkim.
Mizoram Aizwal, Saiha, Serchip, Champai,
Kolasib, Lawngtlai, Mamit and Lunglei.
9
The Hill Districts of Western Ghats Karnataka
Belgaum, Uttara Kannada, Kodagu, Chikmanglur,
Dakshina Kannada and Shimoga. Tamil Nadu
Coimbatore, Madurai, Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli and
Nilgiri. Tamilnadu forms a corridor between the
Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats. The hill
districts mentioned above fall in the ranges of
the Eastern and Western Ghats. Kerala Kannur,
Kozhikode, Wayanad, Eranakulam, Idukki,
Malapuram, Palakkad, Quilon, Kasargode and
Thiruvananthapuram Maharshtra Nashik, Pune,
Satara, Ratnagiri, Kolhapur, Raigarh and
Sindhudurg.
10
The Hill Districts of the Himalayan
Region Uttaranchal Almora, Uttarkashi, Udhamsing
Nagar, Tehri Garhwal, Bageshwar, Chamoli, Rudra,
Prayag, Champawat, Pittoragarh, Nainital,
Dehradun, Garhwal and Haridwar. Himachal
Pradesh Una, Solan, Kullu, Bilaspur, Chamba,
Hamirpur, Kangra, Sirmaur, Shimla, Kinnaur,
Mandi, Lahul and Spiti. Jammu and Kashmir
Anantnag, Udhampur, Baramula, Tribal Territory,
Chilas, Raisi , giligt, Poonch, Gilgit/Wazart,
Muzzafarabad, Jammu, Mirpur, Kathua and
Ladakh. West Bengal Darjeeling
11
63 of the dense forest in the country are in the tribal districts. Increase of 321,00 ha forest cover between 2001-2003.
71 of the ancestral lands of tribals taken over
by the State Forest Department. 70 of the
livelihood resources are from the
forests..3,500 out of 4,175 working mines
(1991-92)..over 3,000 dams.
Over 2,00,000/ 5,87,274 villages gather from
the forests 170,379 of them supporting a
mixed population of 147 million show forest as
a land use. The total forest area of these
villages is 32,198,305 hectares.
Maoists have established in 170 districts which
overlap with tribal districts and hill
districts
There are 2,690 Forest Villages (As on 30.06.2005)
62.9 of Adivasis are landless.
12
Forest Diversion. Between 1980-1995
4,15,762 ha at 25,985 ha/yr Between 1980-2001
8,27,857 ha at 37,629 ha/yr 1996 Godavarman
Case Between 1996-April 2006 7,50,440 ha at
72,646 ha/yr 2.8 time
under Supreme
Court Between 2002-April 2006 3,38,345 ha at
75,139 ha/yr 2.08
times under Central Empowered

Committee Total 1,133,123.93 since 1980 More
forest area was diverted (51) for non-forest
uses during the last 5 years than during the
previous 20 years since enactment of the Forest
Conservation Act, 1980 The annual rate of
diversion between 2002 and 2008 was 50 higher
than that between 1980 and 2002.
13
94.69 of the 921,759.53 hectares diverted
for non-forest purpose from 1980 to 2003 were
for developmental projects such as dams,
mining, industries, and roads (Rajya
Sabha Unstarred Question No. 395, dated
December 5, 2003). In the case of Vedanta mines
in Niyamgiri or the POSCO steel plant project
the Ministry has continued to support diversion
before the Supreme Court . Officially, some
1.73 (1,343,346 hectares) of forest is under
encroachment as on 31.3.2004. (1,696,083 ha in
2008 1,794,879 ha as on 31st December 2009)
14
(No Transcript)
15
FORESTS THAT ARENT FORESTS In 2003 the total
forest covered 23.57 of land area (774,740 sq
km) (this includes tea/coffee, coconut
plantations and sugarcane fields and
agro-forestry plantations, groves, etc.). At
least 12.4 of the land recorded as forest area
has no forest at all. The figures are even more
revealing in some States
State Minimum Area of Recorded Forest Area That Has No Forest Cover
Himachal Pradesh 61
Rajasthan 49
Sikkim 44
Andhra Pradesh 30
Uttaranchal 31
16
Why are these lands recorded as forest areas?
If they did exist, what happened to them? In
Himachal and Uttaranchal, all waste lands were
declared to be forests without any vegetation or
land use surveys and included village pastures,
grazing areas, or even snowbound peaks. 82.9
of the forest blocks in undivided Madhya Pradesh
were never surveyed. THE AREA OF NON-FOREST
FOREST IS AT LEAST SEVEN TIMES LARGER THAN THE
AREA UNDER SO-CALLED ENCROACHMENT.
17
RECORDED Forests That Arent RECORDED The
government is equally confused about which lands
come under which departments control. In
1998, 68.86 million hectares of land was
officially classified as forest, but in 1999
the total was 76.52 million hectares. This
difference of 7.66 million hectares is presumably
disputed between the two Departments. In MP
alone, 1.23 million hectares is disputed between
the two departments. In Orissa large parts have
never been surveyed. How are peoples rights to
be clear when the government itself does not
know what is on this land? THE AREA DISPUTED
BETWEEN THE REVENUE AND FOREST DEPARTMENTS IS
5.7 TIMES THE AREA SUPPOSEDLY UNDER
ENCROACHMENT.
18
Protecting forests by CHOPPING them down Between
1951 to 1979, 3.33 million hectares of
industrial plantations were planted by clear
felling economically less important natural
forests. How much of 27.87 million hectares of
the post-1979 plantations were done on similarly
clear felled natural forests? THE AREA OF
FORESTS FELLED FOR PRE-1979 PLANTATIONS IS 2.5
TIMES THE AREA SUPPOSEDLY UNDER ENCROACHMENT.
19
RECOGNISING RIGHTS, BUT NOT QUITE 3.66 lakh
hectares of cultivated forest land were
regularised since 1990. More than 75 (namely
2,75,405 hectares) of the supposedly regularized
land is in madhya pradesh. What is not mentioned
is that most of this regularization never
happened. In Madhya Pradesh, the
regularization of 1,68,840 hectares was stayed by
the supreme court, and it is unclear how much of
the remaining 1,06,565 hectares was actually
converted into revenue land. In Gujarat only 5
of claimants eventually got title even though
nearly 90 of their claims were supposedly
accepted. Similar occurrences are reported from
other states, but no figures are available. Lets
assume the best case scenario use the real
figure for Gujarat, the maximum possible for
Madhya Pradesh (1,06,565 ha), and assume the
figures for the other states to be correct. Then
the area regularized since 1980 is less than one
sixth of the land (1,67,594 ha) diverted for
mining and other forest destroying projects.
20
Wild Life Sanctuaries 508 existing wildlife
sanctuaries cover an area of 3.60 of the total
geographical area (118,236.94 sq km).  Another
217 sanctuaries are proposed covering an area of
16,669.44 sq km.  National Parks There are 97
existing national parks covering 1.16 of the
geographical area (38,199.47  sq km).  Another
74 national parks are proposed covering an area
of 16,630.08 sq km.
More than 60 of national parks and 92 of
sanctuaries had not completed settlement
procedures, and estimated that between 3.7
million to 4.3 million people live inside
protected areas.
21
Of these. 28 area declared Tiger Reserves
covering roughly 5.6 of forests in 17 states
and over 1 of the countrys geographical area.
The tiger habitats are also located in the 150
poorest districts mostly in Schedule V areas with
the best of forests and dense forests. These
and more tiger reserves were hurriedly declared
Critical Tiger Habitats ILLEGALLYviolating WLPA
2006 amendment in December 2007. The total
tiger population in the 2001-2002 census was
3,642 .but over half of these tigers live
outside tiger reserves !
22
GIVING FOREST COMMUNITIES NEW LIVELIHOODS SIX
CENTURIES FROM NOW The Ministry of Environment
and Forests perfect solution to those living
inside protected areas resettlement with new
livelihoods. But these new livelihoods almost
never seem to appear Since 2001, 3898 families
were voluntarily resettled from national parks
and sanctuaries. But.there are an estimated
4.3 million people 8.15 lakh families living
inside national parks. At the current rate, it
will take them 615 years to resettle all those
living inside national parks and sanctuaries.
23
Delays and corruption of forest authorities
destroyed nearly 11 of the country's land that
were privately owned forests after their take
over. Whenever roads reached earlier
inaccessible forest areas due to developmental
projects, there were large scale fellings of
state forests. Forest based industries
exhausted available bamboo, or huge trees for
pulpwood, at throw away prices. Forest
Development Corporations turned themselves into
Forest Destruction Corporations and clear
felled huge tracts of rich natural forest
without ensuring its replacement by productive
forests. Forest departments played a major
role in destroying the sacred groves.
24
1730 Abhay Singh, the King of Jodhpur, opened a
lime kiln to build his palace with fuel by
felling Khejadi (Prosopis cineraria) trees from
the nearby Khejadali village. But these trees
were sacred to the Bishnois. Women hugged the
trees..Many were killed. The king ordered
protection of Khejadi trees. Trees supplying
vital leaf fodder for livestock of Garhwal
Himalayas were given for manufacture of badminton
rackets at Bareilly the peasants rose in
protest. Nelapattu village, Andhra Pradesh
protect pelicans who nested on trees fringing an
irrigation tank. When the breeding is over, the
people used the nutrient rich waters to irrigate
their fields. When declared a Bird Sanctuary, the
Forest Department banned the use of tank for
irrigation. The farmers turned against the birds,
hurting both the cause of nature conservation and
agriculture.
25
Kokre-Bellur, a village near Bangalore welcomes
pelicans to nest on trees scattered around the
village. In Uttara Kannada district the Forest
Department clear felled sacred groves extending
over hundred or more hectares and replaced them
by Eucalyptus plantations that miserably failed.
Karnataka forest Department commercial felled
from protected sacred groves of Coorg when large
softwood trees became exhausted in the Reserve
Forest areas. A giant Appimidi mango tree
yielding mangoes famous for pickling worth
hundreds of rupees annually was sold as low as
Rs. 60. In Bedthi Hydroelectric Project in
Uttara Kannada district, a particularly dense
tract of forest outside the submersion area
deliberately marked as falling within the
submersion area, and was felled even before the
project was officially cleared the project was
dropped later.
26
The proposal to clear-fell large tracts of
natural sal forests of Bastar and plant them with
tropical pine was opposed by many tribal groups.
The tropical pine was chosen for its supposedly
high production in a pilot plantation of the
species. But this pilot plantation lay in ruins.
The whole affair was a gigantic fraud. The
peoples plantations in Alakananda valley in
Garhwal performed better (80 survival rate) than
the plantation of the forestry establishment
(20survival rate). The Assam agitation of 1980s
choked off the flow of timber from the Northeast.
So raw materials and supplies from Malaysia,
Indonesia, New Zealand and Canada began to pour
in. With this transition, GOI imposed a ban on
further clearing of natural forests in 1986.
Nature-based, especially tiger-centered tourism,
substituted supply of cheap raw material to the
industry as an objective.
27
MP State Forest Department earned 500 crores and
spent 400 crores while people suffered direct
costs of 94 crores in damage from wild life and
spent an estimated Rs. 528 crores in attempts to
prevent wildlife damage. Local people took a
lead in apprehending the rich and famous poachers
such as Salman Khan and Nawab of Pataudi and more
recently an ex-Minister of Maharashtra, Dharmaram
Atram.
28
Blunder at Bharatpur The Bharatpur wetlands
created by bunding of a rivulet in 1763, teemed
with wildfowls becoming a great attraction for
shooting parties of the maharaja of Bharatpur and
his guests in the 1900s. The British Viceroy,
Lord Linlithgow boasted of having shot 4273 birds
on a single day, on 12th November 1938, a feat
commemorated with a stone plaque. Many of these
rajas, landlords set up shikar companies after
independence. Foreign tourists flocked to shoot
tigers, panthers, gaur. This continuing massacre,
now supported by jeeps and superior firearms,
largely polished off the wild life by 1970s. The
Wild Life Protection Act 1972, replaced this
shikar business with eco-tourism in 1980s. The
large heronries in the rainy season and the
enormous flocks of migratory birds visiting in
winter made it one of the first wildlife
sanctuaries. Buffalo grazing and collection of
khus grass by local people were traditionally
practiced in this biodiversity rich habitat.
Bharatpur declared as  Keoladeo Ghana National
Park  in 1982.
29
Buffalo grazing was banned. There were
protests.seven people were killed in the firing
but the ban was enforced. Waterfowls and the
visiting Siberian cranes declined. There were no
buffalos to keep under check a water loving grass
Paspalum rendering it unfit for waterfowl.
Visiting Siberian cranes declined. Prevention of
digging for khus roots prevented loosening of the
soil that give access to corms and tubers to the
Siberian cranes.
30
Sariska disaster Tiger citing became rare in the
Tiger Reserve of Sariska near Delhi since 2003.
Yet the Forest Department claimed that tigers
still roamed Sariska. CBI reported that all
tigers had been poached out of Sariska by 2004.
Carcasses were skinned and left to rot. This
creates a grand stink and it was inconceivable
that the official machinery would not be in the
know. CBI concluded that this must have been done
with official connivance. But.in the end,
while many villagers were beaten up, no
government servant was called to book.
31
Of the 5,653 distinct communities, 635 are
"tribes" or "Adivasis. 577 ST communities
number 84.32 million (2001) comprising 8.32 of
total population. Indian subcontinent the
abode of more than a quarter of the
world's 350 million or so indigenous
peoples. Great Andamanese numbering only 43
to the Gonds numbering more than
5,000,000. The alien concept of private
property with Permanent Settlement of the
British in 1793. The colonization of the forests
commenced with the Forest Act of 1864 and
consolidated with the Indian Forest Act of 1927
reduced the rights of Adivasis to mere privileges
conferred by the state.
32
Revolts Beginning with the Pahariya in Bihar in
1778, the Kolis of Maharashtra (1784-85), the
Tamar of Chota Nagpur in present-day Jharkhand
(1789, 1794-1795, 1801), the Chuari Movement in
Bihar (1795-1800), the Koyas in Andhra Pradesh
(1803, 1862, 1879, 1880, 1822), the tribal
revolts in Chotanagpur (1807- 1808, 1811,
1817, 1820), the Bhils in Western India
(1809-1828, 1846, 1857-1858), the Kols in
Chotangpur (1818, 1831-1832), the Singphos
in Assam (1825, 1828, 1843, 1849, 1869),
the Mishmis in Arunachal Pradesh (1827,
1855), the tribals of Assam (1828), the
Khasis of Assam (1829), the Mundas of Jharkhand
(1820, 1832, 1867, 1889), the Kherwar uprising
in Jharkhand (1832-1823), the Lushais of Assam
(1834-1841, 1842, 1850, 1860, 1871-1872, 1892),
the Daflas of Assam (1835, 1872- 1873), the
Naiks of Gujarat (1838, 1868), the Khampti
in Assam (1839-1843), the Gonds of Bastar
in Chattisgarh (1842), the Kondhs in
Orissa (1850),
33
the North Kachari hills of Assam (1854),
the Santals in Jharkhand (1855, 1869-1870),
the Naikdas in Gujarat (1858), the
Syntengs of the Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya
(1860-1862), the Phulaguri uprising in
Assam (1861), the Juangs in Orissa (1861),
the Sentinel Islanders in the Andaman
Islands (1867, 1883), the Raig-mels of
Assam (1868-1869), the Nagas of Nagaland
(1879, 1932, 1963-1971), the Bastar tribal
uprising (1811), the Tana Bhagat rebellion
in Bihar (1913, 1914, 1920, 1921), the Gond
and Kolam revolt in Andhra Pradesh (1941),
the Koraput revolt in Orissa (1942),
revolts against the Japanese occupation army by
the tribes of the Andaman Islands (1942-1945),
the Mizo revolt in Mizoram (1966-1971),
the Warli revolt of Maharashtra (1956-1958),
the Naxalbari in West Bengal
(1967-71)..
34
.and so on .. the resistance continued
.. into the contemporary times in various
forms.
35

• Scheduled District Act of 1874, Government of
  India Act of 1919 and later the Government
  of India Act of 1935.
• The British Crown's dominions in India consisted
  of four politico-administrative arrangements
• the presidency areas, where the Crown was
  supreme
• the residency areas, where the British Crown was
  present through the resident, and the ruler of
  the realm was subservient to the Crown
• the agency (tribal) areas, where the agent
  governed in the name of the Crown but left the
  local self-governing institutions untouched and
  
• the excluded areas (northeast), where the
  representatives of the Crown was but
  figureheads.

36
Articles 371A and 371G for Nagaland and Mizoram
respectively, confer special powers of greater
autonomy, a result of the early militant
struggles. Article 244 (Schedule V for the
mid-Indian region and Schedule VI for the
northeast region) of the Constitution of
India. The state-sponsored development and
conservation have displaced, mainly in the
mid-Indian region 10 million Adivasis. Of the
21.3 million displaced for various "development"
projects between 1951 and 1990 alone, 8.54
million were STs constituting 40 of the
displaced persons, predominantly from forest
areas. Only 2.1 million of them reportedly
rehabilitated the remaining 6.4 million were
left to fend for themselves
37
The Self-Rule Act Panchayat (Extension to
Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) enacted in 1996 for
the V Schedule. The Recovery of the Commons The
Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest
Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006
emerged at this late hour to rectify the
"historic injustice.
38
1793 Permanent Settlement of Lord
Cornwallis 1874 Excluded Areas Act 1919
Government of India Act 1927 Indian Forest
Act 1935 Government of India Act 1952
Forest Policy 1977 42nd Amendment - State to
concurrent List 1980 Forest Conservation
Act 1990 No.13-1/90 - FP(1,2,3,5) guidelines
of MoEF 1995 Godavarman Thirumulpad SC
admitted 24.12.1996 PESA comes into force
SC - Dictionary meaning of 'forest' 14.02.2000
IA No.548 of 202/95 SC order prohibiting of
dead, dying and diseased
trees from NPS
WLS 13.11.2000 SC 'pending further orders, no
de-reservation of forests/NPs/Sanctuaries shall
be effected' 23.11.2001 IA no.703 in WP(C)
No.202 of 1995 restraining
from regularisation. No further regularisation
39
3. May.2002 MoEF issues order outlining a
"time- bound action plan" for the eviction of
encroachers by September 30, 2002. May
2002 to March 2004 alone, evictions were carried
out from 152,400.110 hectares. About 300,000
forest dwellers evicted during this period.
From 2002 to April 19, 2006, when the eviction
was rampant, 305,266.39 hectares of forest
area were in fact diverted for
non-forestry purposes 09.May.2002 SC
constitutes Central Empowered Committee 10
October 2002 Maharashtra order for
regularisation 30 October 2002 IG of Forests
reiterated 1990 orders
40
30 October 2002 SC - "Net Present Value' from
user agency at Rs.5.80 lakhs to Rs.9.20 lakhs
per ha from 30.122.2002 and remitted to
Compensatory Afrorestation Fund Management
Planning Authority (CAMPA) set up on
23.04.2004 2002 Campaign for Survival and
Dignity (CSD) launched 19-20 July 2003 Jan
Sunwai (900 from 13 states) MoEF Issued
Clarificatory order 03 Feb. 2004 MoEF stepping
up a process for conversion of forest
villages stayed by SC 05 Feb. 2004
Regularisation of rights of tribals on forest
lands cut off date 31.12.1993 stayed by SC 21
July 2004 MoEF Affidavit in SC on 'historical
injustice' October 2004 CSD discussion with
National Advisory Committee/P.M 25 April
2005 Draft Bill
41
21 Dec. 2004 MoEF orders no eviction of STs
pending settlement of rights 08 January 2005
NAC discussed CSD document 19 January 2005 PM
Meeting 7-21 March 2005 Dharna 5000
participates, 1 lakh protest filing of claims
intensified 03 May 2005 Draft law comes to
cabinet - blocked 12 May 2005 MoEF says no
eviction of forest dwellers who have submitted
claims 10 July 2005 Last date for submitting
comments on draft Bill 20-21 July 2005 TSG
redrafts Bill 5 August 2005 The Tiger Task
Force submits report stated that "the
protection of the tiger is inseparable from
the protection of the forests it roams in. But
the protection of these forests is itself
inseparable from the fortunes of people who,
in India, inhabit forest areas" 15 August 2005
National Protest Day - 180,000 participates 08.Nov
ember 2005 Jail Bharo Andolan over 90,000
arrested 13 Dec 2005 Bill placed in Parliament
42
03. Dec 2005 Joint Parliamentary Committee
constituted 28 April 2006 JPC depositions
over 23 May 2006 JPC submits report to
Parliament 21-25 August 2006 Protests in
Delhi 03 September 2006 WLPA Amendment (No.39
of 2006) - Tiger Amendment passed 22 November
2006 Indefinite protest 29 November 2006
Nationwide protest Between 15-25 Lakh
protests 15.december 2006 Bill passed in
Lok Sabha 18 December 2006 Bill passed in Rajya
Sabha 29 December 2006 President signs 2
January 2007 Issued in Gazette for public
information February 2007 TSG for Rules
constituted May 2007 TSG submits draft
Rules 28-31 December 2007 Critical Tiger
Habitats notified 28 TRs8 31. December 2007
Act notified 01. January 2008 Rules notified
43

• As per the information collected till 28th
  February 2010,
• more than 27.16 lakh claims filed
• more than 9.92 lakh claims pending
• more than 9.29 lakh titles rejected
• more than 7.59 lakh titles distributed
• more than 36 thousand titles ready for
  distribution.

44
THE FOREST RIGHTS ACT Who is eligible under this
Act? Those who primarily reside in forests
section 2(c) / 2(o) And are dependent on
forest land or forests for bona fide livelihood
needs section 2(c) / 2(o)
45
If the claimant is an ST, they should be in the
area where they are scheduled sections 2(c) and
4(1) - ST certificate to claim rights as an
ST section 2(c) and Form in Rules If the
claimant is not an ST in the area where they are
scheduled, they can make claims as other
traditional forest dwellers Non-ST's are also
eligible, as long as they satisfy the 3
generations requirement. section 2(o) - They
must have resided in forests or forest land for
three generations before 2005, where generation
is defined as twenty five years a total period
of seventy five years i.e., since 1930. Proof
of three generations of residence.
46
What are the Rights that can be claimed? To
community forest resource Customary common forest
land within the traditional or customary
boundaries of the village or seasonal use of
landscape in the case of pastoral communitiesto
which the community had traditional access 1.
Right to protect, regenerate or conserve or
manage any community forest resource which they
have been traditionally protecting and conserving
for sustainable use Section 3(i) 2. To 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 Section 5 (d). To Land Being
Occupied or Cultivated or Under Customary Use 1.
Directly as Land Under Occupation section
3(a) 2. Conversion of Titles / Leases / Grants
section 3(g) 3. As Disputed Lands section
3(f)
47
Minor Forest Produce sections 3(b)/
3(c) Includes bamboo, brush wood, stumps,
cane, tussar, cocoons, honey, wax, lac, tendu or
kendu leaves, medicinal plants and herbs, roots,
tubers and so on section 2(i) traditionally
collected from within or outside village
boundaries section 3(1)(c) Fish and other
produce of water bodies are covered under a
separate right 3(1)(d). Ownership, collection,
use and dispose from any forest area
traditionally collected falling both within and
outside village boundaries section
3(1)(c). Also traditional nistari rights/rights
once recorded under Princely States or zamindars,
but may be extinguished or vested in the
state since Government take-over (section
3(1)(b)). Can be transported by headloads,
handcarts or bicycles. Motorised transport is not
allowed in forest areas.
48
Grazing, Water and Other Community Rights
(section 3(1)(d)) The right to graze livestock
section 3(1)(d). Pastoralist communities
(both settled and nomadic) have a right to access
forest land on a seasonal basis section 3(1)(d)
for similar uses. The right to access forest
land on a seasonal basis to the community and its
members.
Conversion of Unrecorded Settlements and Forest
Villages to Revenue Villages section 3(1)(h)
49
Habitat (section 3(1)(e)) (applies only to
pre-agricultural and primitive tribal
groups) Primitive tribal groups (such as the
Juangs, the Chenchus, the Baigas etc.) and
preagricultural communities (such as shifting
cultivators and hunter/gatherers). Habitat is
the traditional area in which these communities
have lived, even if that should be inside
reserved / protected forests section
2(h). Right to reside inside these forest
areas in accordance with their traditions and
customs Right to prevent these forests from
being destroyed (since that would deprive these
communities of their habitat) Right to continue
socio-cultural, religious and livelihood social
activities in these forest areas that made them
into a habitat.
50
Right to Rehabilitation in case of Illegal
Eviction or Forcible Displacement (sections
3(1)(m) and 4(8)) The eviction is illegal if
notice prior to eviction was not served or if the
forest settlement in the area is not complete, or
if the settlement is faulty. And no compensation
or rehabilitation was provided. It is the
responsibility of the Forest Department to prove
that compensation was provided. A right to land
for rehabilitation only if the land that was
taken from was not used for its purpose within
five years of being acquired, and if no land was
provided at the time of being displaced. Once
evicted/displaced and occupied forest land for
livelihood after that, you cannot be evicted from
the land you have occupied, as you have a right
to on site rehabilitation under section 3(1)(m)
and to land compensation under section 4(8).
51
Any Other Traditional Right (section
3(1)(l)) This excludes hunting. - shifting
cultivation, both individual and collective -
customary individual or community claims over
territory - right to use religious sites /
burial sites - right to collect timber for
housing or types of produce not covered under
minor forest produce, etc.
52

• Who are the Authorities under the Act?
• Gram Sabha determines the Rights
• A village assembly consisting 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
• (i) A village is referred to as in clause (b) of
  section 4 of the
• Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the
  Scheduled Areas)
• Act, 1996 (40 of 1996) in V Scheduled Areas 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.

53

• Each gram sabha is to elect a ten to fifteen
  member Forest Rights Committee of which one-third
  are to be women and one-third STs in areas where
  STs reside.
• Receiving claims from people.
• Prepare claims for the community as a whole over
  its community resources such as minor forest
  produce, access to grazing land, community forest
  resources etc.
• Visit the site of the claim
• Receive additional evidence from the claimant or
  other witnesses.
• Decides whether the claim is correct or not
• Reaches an agreed upon proposal in case claims of
  one village overlaps with another or with
  multiple villages with the Forest Rights
  Committees of the village/s concerned
• And finally presents its findings and
  recommendations to the Gram Sabha.
• Gram Sabha then considers and decides on the
  claims.
• If any claimant is not satisfied with the gram
  sabhas decision, he/she can appeal to the
  Sub-Divisional Level Committee. Section 6(2)

54
Sub-Divisional Level Committee 1.Sub-Divisional
Officer, who is the Chairperson 2.Forest Officer
in charge of a sub-division 3.Tribal Welfare
Official at the sub-divisional level, or the
official who looks after that subject 4.Representa
tive of Block/Taluka Panchayat nominated by the
Zilla Parishad 5.Representative of Block/Taluka
Panchayat nominated by the Zilla
Parishad 6.Representative of Block/Taluka
Panchayat nominated by the Zilla Parishad Of the
last three, two should be Scheduled Tribes (or,
where there are no ST's, other traditional forest
dwellers) and at least one should be a woman.
55
Sub-divisional Committee shall Provide
publicity and logistics, copies of forms and
information to gram sabhas. Put together the
resolutions Hear appeals made to it against
gram sabha decisions Examine the resolutions
of the gram sabha Settle disputes between two
gram sabhas. Where a claim concerns an area
outside of the Sub-Division, the Committee should
approach the Sub-Divisional Level Committee of
the concerned Sub-Division for settling the
matter. prepares the record of forest rights
for each block / taluk and passes that on to the
District Level Committee If dissatisfied with
the Sub-Divisional Level Committees decision on
their appeal, the claimant can appeal to the
District Level Committee.
56
District Level Committee The final step is a
committee that consists of the following people
(section 6(8)) 1.District Collector or Deputy
Commissioner, who is the Chairperson 2.Divisional
Forest Officer or Deputy Conservator of
Forests 3.Official in charge of tribal welfare at
the district level 4.Representative chosen by
Zilla Parishad 5.Representative chosen by Zilla
Parishad 6.Representative chosen by Zilla
Parishad 1.Considers and finally approves them
(Section 6(6)). 2.Hear appeals against orders of
the Sub-Divisional Level Committee. 3.Settle
disputes between Sub-Divisional Level
Committees 4.Contacts other districts in case
claims are across district boundaries 5. Issues
directions to the government officials to make
the necessary changes in the revenue and forest
records. 6. Publicise the record of rights and
provide certified copies of accepted rights to
the gram sabha and to the person concerned.
57
Right to Development Section 3(2) Provides for
diversion of forest land up to 1 acre in each
case and recommended by the Gram Sabha for the
following facilities managed by the Government
which involve felling of trees not exceeding
seventy-five trees per hectare, namely (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 upgradation or vocational
training centres (l) roads and (m) community
centres
58
Critical wildlife habitat Critical wildlife
habitat are such areas of National Parks and
Sanctuaries specifically and clearly established,
case by case, based on scientific and objective
criteria, that such areas are required to be kept
as inviolate for the purposes of wildlife
conservation after open process of consultation
by an Expert committee. All the following
conditions are satisfied, namely (a) the
process of recognition and vesting of rights is
complete (b) it has been established 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
59
(d) a resettlement or alternatives package has
been prepared and communicated (e) the free
informed consent of the Gram Sabhas to the
proposed resettlement and to the package has been
obtained in writing (f) no settlement 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. No one can
be shifted until the process of recognizing
forest rights in that area is complete section
4(2)(a).
60
Conditions Should have occupied forest land
before the 13th day of December, 2005. Right to
land under occupation shall be restricted to the
area under actual occupation and shall in no case
exceed an area of four hectares. The right 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. 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.
61

• Power to Conserve, Protect and Regulate
• The holders of any forest right, Gram Sabha and
  village level institutions in areas where there
  are holders of any forest right under Section 5
  this Act are empowered to
• 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 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.

62
The commons institutional commons biodiversit
y or genetic commons, physical or
environmental commons knowledge commons
63

• Neo-liberal globalization seeks to enclose these
  commons to commodify them with fences and
  borders as private property to be policed and
  protected.
• It invades the commons, and transferring them
  from communally managed resources to the
  market.
• It creates, perpetuates and intensifies disputes,
  resistance and consequent violence.
• The state takes on the role of an instrument of
  capital and market, to contain and repress
  peoples resistance.

64

• It is not the tragedy of the commons that we
  are told of, but the tragedy of enclosure that
  are at the roots of scarcity, deprivation and
  unrest.

..the battle over the forests has reached a
watershed the battle between predatory
capitalist takeover and democratic
governance. For more details
www.forestrightsact.com