Sloppy implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) has resulted in large tracts of forests being cut down and claimed as cultivated land in Maharashtra, according to a study.

Union minister says it only leads to increased Maoist activity in the areas

Arguing that mining in tribal areas would lead to increased Maoist activity, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has called for a 20-year moratorium on mining projects that affect the livelihood sources of the tribal communities in Andhra Pradesh. “Nowhere in the country has mining benefited the tribals. Only a few outsiders became rich while the locals remained poor,” Ramesh said while addressing a public meeting at GK Veedhi, a remote tribal hamlet in the coastal Andhra district of Visakhapatnam.

Which government department addresses injustice done to tribals in the country? Tribal rights activists from Chhattisgarh have been trying to solve this conundrum for a year now.

Activists lament dilution of tribal rights as Environment Ministry amends 2009 circular

Gram sabhas in forest areas have been stripped of their power to approve or reject proposals for the diversion of their forest lands for building roads, transmission lines, canals or other linear projects. In a move that activists have slammed as being a dilution of the rights of tribal people and other forest dwellers, the Environment Ministry on Tuesday amended its critical August 2009 circular dealing with the implementation of the Forest Rights Act.

Nod For Road, Rail Projects To Be Fast-Tracked

New Delhi: With environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan insisting that rights of tribals cannot be overlooked while clearing projects in forest areas, government has now decided against changing the norms for forest clearances, except in the case of rail tracks, roads and power lines – called linear projects. The decision came following a meeting called by PM Manmohan Singh with Natarajan and tribal affairs minister V Kishore Chandra Deo after the two had voiced opposition to a PMO report asking for severe dilution to the rules requiring consent from gram sabhas (village councils) for projects in forests where tribals dwell traditionally.

In a major step that could finally break the logjam over forest and environmental clearances to linear projects, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has agreed to sort out issues coming in the way of implementing these projects, as far as requirements under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) are concerned.

Tribal Affairs Minister V Kishore Chandra Deo told The Indian Express that his ministry would support these projects, considering the need for roads and railways in tribal areas.

Will not dilute gram sabha consent requirements, says MoEF

In a joint strategy for their meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh next week, Environment and Forests Minister Jayanthi Natarajan and Tribal Affairs Minister Kishore Chandra Deo both reportedly plan to oppose any dilution of tribal rights in forest areas. This, despite the fact that their respective secretaries have signed on to a deal with the Prime Minister’s Office last month agreeing to such a dilution.

The move to ease diversion of forest land for industrial use by the Prime Minister’s Office faces further delay as the ministries of tribal affairs and environment want more time for consultations. A panel headed by principal secretary to the prime minister, Pulok Chatterjee, had decided to dilute the requirement of taking consent from the affected tribal population before diverting forest land. The committee, which submitted its report on December 12, included top officials from tribal affairs and environment ministries.

The recommendations for all practical purposes allow the forest clearance process to bypass the gram sabhas, or village assemblies, which are the basic units for the implementation of the Forest Rights Act.

In a bid to speed up infrastructure projects, the Prime Minister’s Office is said to have asked the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to issue fresh directions to facilitate ‘unconditional forest clearance’ waiving off the requirement for gram sabha nod for linear projects, small public utility projects and projects that do not ‘substantially’ affect the quality of the life of people.

While the PMO has been asking the MoEF for the last few months to examine ways to expedite the method of granting forest and environment clearance, in a meeting held on December 12, 2012, it was decided that the Ministry of Tribal Affairs will have to relax its guidelines. Both ministries are yet to issue any fresh circular.