Life of 6000 villagers set to improve in Odisha

Subject :Polity

Section: Laws in news

Concept :

Over 6,000 villagers who lived devoid of essential government welfare schemes and developmental benefits for decades deep inside forests in Odisha’s Ganjam district are set to embrace a new life with the recognition of their villages as revenue villages under the Forest Right Act.
These people were part of 38 unsurveyed forest villages and for every small developmental activity, they required permission from the forest department.
In the census report, these villages are identified as ‘Zero’ villages, but inhabited by people.

Revenue Villages under FRA

Under Section 3(1)(h) of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, the rights of settlement and conversion of all forest villages, old habitations, un-surveyed villages and other villages in forest, whether recorded, notified, or not, into revenue villages have been recognized as one of the forest rights of forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers on all forest lands.
As per the provisions of the Act and the rules framed thereunder, the forest right related to conversion of forest villages into revenue villages is to be adjudicated by the Gram Sabha, Sub-Divisional Level Committee and the District Level Committee as per the laid down procedure, like any other forest right specified in the Act.
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has issued guidelines to the State/ UT Governments to convert all such erstwhile forest villages, un-recorded settlements and old habitations into revenue villages with a sense of urgency in a time bound manner.
The conversion would include the actual land use of the village in its entirety, including land required for current or future community uses, like, schools, health facilities, public spaces etc.