Goa govt promises to resolve cases under Forest Rights Act by ‘Liberation Day’

Panaji, June 4 (PTI) The Goa government on Wednesday promised to resolve all pending cases under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), mostly concerning land ownership of tribals, by December 19, which is celebrated as the state’s ‘Liberation Day’.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant made the announcement after chairing a meeting with senior officials, including the state-level nodal officer for FRA, Ajay Gaude.

Talking to reporters at Mantralaya, Porvorim, Sawant said his government has resolved to clear all pending cases under the FRA by December 19, 2025.

Goa celebrates December 19 every year to commemorate its liberation from 450 years of Portuguese rule.

FRA, officially known as the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, recognises the rights of forest-dwelling communities over the land and resources they have traditionally used.

Sawant said the government has received 10,500 applications under the FRA till date, of which 871 have been disposed of, while 949 stand rejected.

He said some applications were turned down since the claimed pieces of land were located on revenue areas and not within forest boundaries as required under the Act.

The CM said district authorities will hold “special camps” on June 14 in all six talukas – Quepem, Sanguem, Dharbandora, Canacona, Ponda and Sattari – from where the claims have been received under the Act.

“The deputy collector-rank officer from the respective talukas will host the camp to process the claims under the FRA. The claims would subsequently be forwarded to the district collectors,” Sawant said.

He said 3,970 cases are pending with different deputy collectors and they would be resolved during these special camps in the six talukas. Several other cases are pending at different levels, said officials.

Respective collectors will process the claims received from their deputies and also immediately issue ‘sanads’ (land ownership documents) to the tribal claimants, Sawant said.

He said 564 cases are now awaiting issuance of sanads by Goa’s two district collectors.

The CM said there was a delay in clearing the claims under the FRA, as the agency hired to survey the areas claimed by the applicants abandoned the work midway. PTI RPS NR