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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 1427
To Be Answered On- 11/02/2026
Claims and pending approvals under FRA
1427 # Smt. Ramilaben Becharbhai Bara:
Smt. Mamata Mohanta:
Dr. Medha Vishram Kulkarni:
Shri Sadanand Mhalu Shet Tanavade:
Will the Minister of Tribal Affairs be pleased to state:
(a) the number of individual and community forest rights claims disposed of during the last three years;
(b) the number of claims rejected along with the main reasons for such rejections;
(c) whether district-level committees have been directed to review pending claims;
(d) if so, the details thereof;
(e) the role of the Ministry in ensuring uniform interpretation of the provisions of the Forest Rights Act (FRA)
by the States; and
(f) the safeguards put in place to prevent the eviction of eligible forest dwellers?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRIBAL AFFAIRS
(SHRI DURGA DAS UIKEY)
(a) & (b): As per the provisions of ‘The Scheduled Tribes And Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition
of Forest Rights) Act, 2006’ and Rules made thereunder, the State Governments are responsible for
implementation of various provisions of the Act and are being implemented in 20 States and 1 UT. Ministry of
Tribal Affairs (MoTA) monitors the Monthly Progress Reports (MPR) submitted by States/UTs.
As per the latest information reported by the States and collated under MPR as on 31.12.2025, a total of 44,33,940
(85.40%) claims have been settled (decision taken), comprising 42,56,845 individuals and 1,77,095 community
claims. Further, during the last three years, i.e. from 01.01.2023 to 01.01.2026, a total of 4,43,247 claims have
been settled (decision taken), comprising 4,10,135 individual and 33,112 community claims. A statement
showing state wise details of claims settled along with details of claims filed, titles distributed and claims rejected
during the last three years is at Annexure.
As reported by States/UTs, cumulatively till 31st December 2025, a total of 18,90,360 (36.41%) claims have
been rejected, comprising 18,36,594 individual and 53,766 community claims. And during the last three
years, a total of 1,60,715 claims have been rejected.
Based on the information received from the State Governments of Odisha, Karnataka, West Bengal, the primary
grounds for rejection of claims are - claimed land not occupied before 13th December 2005, duplicate claimsfiled on the same land, claims on Non-Forest Land, lack of evidence, OTFD could not prove 3 generations of
residence, etc.
(c) & (d): Ministry of Tribal Affairs has asked states in various review meetings and through letters to consider
the claims under FRA in a time bound manner and engage with districts to resolve bottlenecks, if any, in settling
of claims. Further, to enhance the comprehensive implementation of the FRA, MoTA has been providing support
to the districts by setting up dedicated FRA cells at the State and District/ Subdivision levels, for a period of two
years. Further, States have been encouraged to fast-track the processing and disposal of pending claims in
Multiple National level consultation/meetings/workshops with States/UTs, which are held from time to time.
Details of such consultation/meetings/workshop held recently are as follows:
(i) DC/DM National Conference was held in January, 2025, where DC/DMs of 87 districts, officials from
States/Line Ministries participated. The district wise progress of FRA implementation was reviewed and
participant DM/DC were requested to dispose of all pending FRA Claims.
(ii) From 28.05.2025 to 05.06.2025, the progress of FRA was reviewed in the regional workshops conducted by
State Governments.
(iii) On 6th June 2025, a meeting was held to discuss the plan of action for providing a sustainable form of
livelihood for FRA patta holders and to discuss the field level issues in FRA implementation with State
Governments and expert CSOs were invited.
(iv) On 9th and 10th September 2025, during the National Conference, the status of FRA implementation and
issues were discussed with State Government officials. CSOs were also invited.
(v) On 19th December 2025, a National Consultative Workshop on the FRA was conducted to facilitate dialogue
for effective implementation of the FRA. Representatives of Government departments, civil society organizations
and academicians were invited.
(e): The Ministry of Tribal Affairs, being the Nodal Ministry for Monitoring and administering the legislative
matters of FRA, by exercising power under Section 12 of the Act, has been issuing directions and guidelines from
time to time on various aspects to ensure uniform interpretation and effective implementation of the provisions
of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) by the States. The Ministry has been exhorting all State Governments to abide by
the provisions contained in the FRA and ensure that all eligible claimants are provided the rights which are due
to them. MoTA has asked states in various review meetings and through letters to inter alia have the meetings of
the State Level Monitoring Committee (SLMC), to be chaired by Chief Secretary, at least once in three months,
to monitor the process of recognition, verification and vesting of forest rights, consider and address the field level
problems.
(f): FRA provides provisions for a safeguard against eviction through the provisions contained in Section 4(5)
and also provision of petition by the aggrieved to SDLC and DLC (Section 6(2) and 6(4)). State Governments
have been advised to ensure that the interests of the Scheduled Tribes are properly safeguarded in accordance
with constitutional provisions and various laws designed to provide safeguards for the STs.Annexure
Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) & (b) of Rajya Sabha Unstarred
Question No. 1427 to be answered on- 11.02.2026 regarding “Claims and
pending approvals under FRA”:
State wise details of claims filed, titles distributed, rejected and settled claims during last
three years period (01.01.2023 to 01.01.2026), as per information received from States/ UT:
No. of Claims filed during No. of Titles Distributed duri
No. of ClaTotal No. of
S. 01.01.2023 to 01.01.2026 ng 01.01.2023 to 01.01.2026
States/UT ims Rejec Claims Disp
No. Individ Communi Individua Communit
Total Total ted osed off
ual ty l y
Andhra Prades
1 3,684 0 3,684 8,686 0 8,686 3,040 11,726
h
2 Assam 32,000 1,501 33,501 27,536 1,098 28,634 16,379 45,013
3 Bihar -3,326 0 -3,326 70 0 70 281 351
4 Chhattisgarh 13,047 6,271 19,318 24,287 6,671 30,958 7,745 38,703
5 Goa 200 10 210 556 6 562 1,248 1,810
6 Gujarat 186 0 186 7,046 195 7,241 -56,966 -49,725
Himachal Prad
7 3,185 589 3,774 754 113 867 8 875
esh
8 Jharkhand 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9 Karnataka 3,362 78 3,440 572 1 573 15,467 16,040
10 Kerala 566 74 640 1,785 92 1,877 633 2,510
Madhya Prade
11 0 0 0 292 0 292 -292 0
sh
12 Maharashtra 35,218 -778 34,440 34,635 1,584 36,219 127,106 163,325
124,30
13 Odisha 102,953 21,347 9,875 1,646 11,521 4,109 15,630
0
14 Rajasthan 1,877 2,516 4,393 700 1,958 2,658 2,840 5,498
15 Tamil Nadu -636 466 -170 7,298 616 7,914 3,218 11,132
448,26
16 Telangana 447,646 619 133,301 619 133,920 0 133,920
5
17 Tripura 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
18 Uttar Pradesh 395 32 427 4,488 32 4,520 -4,025 495
19 Uttarakhand 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20 West Bengal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jammu & Kas
21 33,233 12,857 46,090 429 5,591 6,020 39,924 45,944
hmir
719,17
TOTAL 673,590 45,582 262,310 20,222 282,532 160,715 443,247
2
(Certain States reported negative FRA progress during the period but have submitted
clarifications and rectified figures)
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