Tribal Affairs Ministry seeks scientific basis for claim that FRA titles caused forest degradation

New Delhi, Jul 5 (PTI) The Tribal Affairs Ministry has asked the Environment Ministry to provide scientific evidence to support the claim that granting land rights under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, has led to forest degradation, warning that such statements may "reinforce stereotypes" and "undermine" the law.

In an office memorandum dated July 2, addressed to the secretary of the Environment Ministry, the Tribal Affairs Ministry said, "The India State of Forest Report (IFSR) 2023 indicates that, of the several factors, negative change is also associated with the 'Titles given to beneficiaries under the Forest Rights Act (2006)'." It said the Environment Ministry should provide "a detailed scientific analysis to support this claim with valid instances through ground truthing, as the report mentions".

Sharing the memorandum in a post on X, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that while over 150 civil society groups and activists had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 26 about the "deliberate subversion" of the FRA by the Environment Ministry, "the Tribal Affairs Ministry has now asked for an explanation from the MoEF&CC as to how and why the Forest Survey of India has held the FRA responsible for the loss of good quality forest areas".

On Friday, the Environment Ministry strongly rejected the allegations by forest rights groups, calling them a "gross misunderstanding of facts" and asserting that it remains committed to both environmental protection and the welfare of forest-dependent communities.

The forest rights groups had also demanded that Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav clarify his reported statement that the "FRA leads to forest degradation".

Responding to the criticism, the ministry said in a statement on Friday that Union Minister Yadav's remarks, as quoted on social media, had been "grossly misrepresented, distorted, represented in a piecemeal manner and are totally out of context".

The Tribal Affairs Ministry issued the memorandum in response to Chapter 2 of the ISFR 2023 and a June 5 news report quoting ISFR data.

The ministry said that the FRA "does not deal with the regularisation of encroachments" but was enacted to recognise pre-existing rights of eligible individuals and communities residing in forests before December 13, 2005.

The ministry added that the Act acknowledges "pre-existing rights that are already being exercised by eligible individuals and communities dwelling in forest areas, including national parks and sanctuaries as stated in the Preamble of the Act".

"Beyond securing the tenure of the existing forest dwellers, (the) FRA does not create any new rights that could potentially affect the ecological balance within protected areas," the communication read.

The Tribal Affairs Ministry expressed concern that linking FRA rights to forest degradation "may reinforce stereotypes amongst the state governments, including district administrations and forest administration, that could undermine the rights vested under the Act, as well as the effectiveness of the implementation of the Act". PTI GVS MPL MPL