Thousands of forest rights titles ‘vanish’ in Chhattisgarh records , Pg1

Key Highlights:

• Thousands of forest rights titles in Chhattisgarh seemingly disappeared from government records over the past 17 months.
• Data obtained via RTI shows a decrease in Individual Forest Rights (IFR) and Community Forest Resource Rights (CFRR) titles across multiple districts.
• Government officials attribute the discrepancies to "miscommunication and error in reporting" requiring correction.
• Chhattisgarh accounts for over 43% of the forest area with granted FRA titles nationwide as of May 2025.

Detailed Insights:

• In Bastar district, IFR titles decreased from 37,958 in January 2024 to 35,180 by May 2025.
• Rajnandgaon district saw CFRR titles halve from 40 to 20 within one month last year.
• Experts consider the decrease an anomaly, as the Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2006 has no provision for withdrawing granted titles.
• The FRA stipulates that granted titles are inheritable but neither transferable nor alienable.
• The State government allegedly cancelled some titles in 2016, a matter pending before the Chhattisgarh High Court.
• FRA implementation has been slow in the three districts declared free of Naxalism.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Individual Forest Rights (IFR): Rights granted to individual members of Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers to use forest land for habitation and self-cultivation.
• Community Forest Resource Rights (CFRR): Rights granted to communities to manage and conserve forest resources within their traditional boundaries.
• Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2006: An act to recognize and vest the forest rights and occupation in forest land in Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers.