Tribal activists hail compensation for land regularized under FRA

Tribal activists hail compensation for land regularized under FRA

Subject: Polity

Section: Laws in news

Context:

• Tribal rights activists expressed satisfaction with the compensation awarded for land regularised under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006 (FRA) in connection with the 464­km Bharatamala Road project linking Raipur and Visakhapatnam.

About Forest Rights Act 2006:

• FRA enacted in 2006 recognises the rights of forest-dwelling tribal communities and other traditional forest dwellers to forest resources on which these communities were dependent for a variety of needs, including livelihood, habitation and other sociocultural needs.
• It recognizes and vest the forest rights and occupation in Forest land in Forest Dwelling Scheduled Tribes (FDST) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFD) who have been residing in such forests for generations.
• It strengthens the conservation regime of the forests while ensuring livelihood and food security of the FDST and OTFD.
• The Gram Sabha is the authority to initiate the process for determining the nature and extent of Individual Forest Rights (IFR) or Community Forest Rights (CFR) or both that may be given to FDST and OTFD.

Rights Under the Forest Rights Act:

1. Title rights:

• It gives FDST and OTFD the right to ownership to land farmed by tribals or forest dwellers subject to a maximum of 4 hectares.
• Ownership is only for land that is actually being cultivated by the concerned family and no new lands will be granted.

2. Use rights:

• The rights of the dwellers extend to extracting Minor Forest Produce, grazing areas etc.

3. Relief and development rights:

• To rehabilitate in case of illegal eviction or forced displacement and to basic amenities, subject to restrictions for forest protection.

4. Forest management rights:

• It includes the right to protect, regenerate or conserve or manage any community forest resource which they have been traditionally protecting and conserving for sustainable use.

What is Bharatmala?

• It is an umbrella project under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
• Under the plan the government intends to develop 83,677 km of highways and roads at an investment of around Rs 7 lakh crore over the next five years.
• In the first phase, the plan is to construct 34,800 km of highways at a cost of Rs 5.35 lakh crore.
• It focuses on the new initiatives like development of Border and International connectivity roads, Coastal & port connectivity roads, improving efficiency of National Corridors, Economic corridors and others.