AHMEDABAD: As India gears up to mark “World Tribal Day” on August 9, new figures from the Rajya Sabha reveal a significant challenge: over 40 per cent of tribal claims under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) have been rejected by the Gujarat government. As of June 30, a total of 182,869 individuals and 7,187 communities have filed land claims under the FRA. However, the government has only granted land to 97,690 individuals and 4,791 communities, denying a substantial number of applications.This data underscores a major issue in the FRA implementation as the state prepares for its commemorative event.In response to the query of Rajya Sabha MP P Wilson, on the details of individual and community title claims made and approved under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) for Scheduled Tribe communities and other traditional forest dwellers over the past five years, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has released comprehensive statistics on the approved and rejected FRA claims nationwide.According to a government response in the Rajya Sabha, “In Gujarat, of the 182,869 tribal land claims filed under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 85,179 have been denied by various administrations. Additionally, only 4,791 received approval of the 7,187 communities that requested land under the FRA. Overall, out of a total of 190,056 individual and community FRA claims, 87,575 have been rejected and 102,481 have been approved.”Gujarat Congress MLA and tribal leader Anant Patel criticized the Gujarat government, stating, “General reasons for rejections reported by state governments include non-occupation of forest land before December 13, 2005, multiple claims, and insufficient documentary evidence.”If the gram sabha and the forest committee approve a claim, how can the government still reject it, asked Patel. The government argues that the land is not being cultivated, but if villagers provide written proof of cultivation, it’s unclear why the claims are still denied, he said, alleging that the government is intentionally harassing tribals.Data presented in the Lok Sabha on August 7 last year revealed that Gujarat has diverted 16,070.58 hectares of land for various development projects under compensatory afforestation over the past 15 years. The government reported that 10,832.3 hectares of land have been given under Compensatory Afforestation from 2008 to 2022-23.
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