‘Moving villagers from tiger reserves must be voluntary’, Pg10

Key Highlights:

• The Union Tribal Affairs Ministry has mandated that relocation of forest-dwelling communities from tiger reserves must be voluntary.
• The new policy framework outlines mechanisms for communities to continue living in forests and procedures for obtaining consent for relocation.
• A National Framework for Community-Centred Conservation and Relocation will be jointly set by the Environment Ministry and the Tribal Affairs Ministry.
• The policy suggests a National Database on Conservation-Community Interface to track relocations, compensation, and post-relocation status.

Detailed Insights:

• The policy emphasizes that communities can continue living in traditional forest habitats while exercising their Individual Forest Rights or Community Forest Rights under the Forest Rights Act (FRA).
• The Tribal Affairs Ministry has received concerns from State governments and Gram Sabhas regarding the non-implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006.
• The National Tiger Conservation Authority’s (NTCA) directive to prioritize relocation of villages in core areas of tiger reserves faced protests from Gram Sabhas and forest rights activists last year.
• According to the NTCA, there are 591 villages and 64,801 families within the core areas of tiger reserves.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Forest Rights Act (FRA): Legislation that recognizes the rights of forest-dwelling communities to forest resources.
• Gram Sabha: A village assembly consisting of all adults in a village, playing a key role in local governance.
• Tiger Reserve: Designated areas for the conservation of tigers and their habitat, often involving restrictions on human activities.