Uttarakhand’s Raji tribe demands immediate allocation of revenue land leases

Dehradun, Dec 16 (PTI) Representatives of the Raji tribe, a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG) in Uttarakhand, alleged on Tuesday that despite two decades having passed since the implementation of the Forest Rights Act, they have not yet received leases for revenue land. They demanded that the state government address their demands promptly.

Members of the extremely reclusive Raji tribe, confined to only 11 villages, arrived here for the first time to collectively voice their problems and demands for their rights.

A group of about 20 young men and women from Pithoragarh, who came here with the support of the 'Association for Rural Planning and Action' (ARPAN), which has been working for the Raji tribe for the past three decades, told reporters that almost 20 years have passed since the Forest Rights Act of 2006 was enacted, but they have not yet received leases for revenue land.

Kamal Singh Rajwar of the Raji tribe said, “The rights that should have been granted as soon as the law was implemented are still entangled in files and procedures. The Raji community, living in inaccessible forests and mountains, still depends on forest produce collection and daily wage labour.” NSD MNK MNK