Executive Summary:
This document presents the Ministry of Tribal Affairs' response to questions raised in Lok Sabha regarding the implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006. It details the status of land and community title claims, steps taken to protect tribal rights, and measures to prevent wrongful evictions. The report includes data on claims filed and rejected up to May 31, 2025, and outlines ongoing efforts to expedite the settlement process.
Key Points / Main Content:
Implementation and Responsibilities:
* The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is the nodal ministry overseeing the FRA's legislative matters.
* State Governments are responsible for implementing the FRA, which is currently active in 20 States and 1 Union Territory.
* FRA includes safeguards against forced eviction, ensuring no tribal member is evicted until the recognition and verification process is complete (Section 4.5 of FRA).
* Aggrieved persons can petition to the Sub-Divisional Level Committee (SDLC) and District Level Committee (DLC) (Section 6.2 and 6.4 of FRA).
* State Level Monitoring Committees, chaired by the Chief Secretary, must meet at least once every three months to monitor the recognition, verification, and vesting of forest rights.
Claims Status (as of May 31, 2025):
* A total of 5,123,104 claims have been filed at the Gram Sabha Level.
* This total includes 4,911,495 individual claims and 211,609 community claims.
* 2,511,375 titles (49.02%) have been distributed, comprising 2,389,670 individual and 121,705 community titles.
* 1,862,056 claims (36.34%) have been rejected, including 1,809,017 individual and 53,039 community claims.
Government Actions to Protect Tribal Rights:
* The Ministry of Tribal Affairs issues ongoing directions and guidelines for proper FRA implementation and conducts regular review meetings with State Tribal Welfare Departments.
* Grievances regarding FRA violations are forwarded to concerned States/UTs to ensure legitimate claimants receive their rights.
* Financial support is provided under the 'Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan' (DAJGUA) to establish dedicated FRA cells at state, district, and sub-division levels to expedite pending claims.
* The Ministry urges states to create an FRA Atlas to map potential forest areas and enhance capacity building for stakeholders.
* Financial support is provided to develop and maintain state-specific FRA portals, including digital mapping of land records.
Impact Analysis:
State Governments:
* Impact: Responsible for implementing the FRA and addressing grievances related to its violation.
* Action Required: Implement FRA provisions, participate in review meetings, establish FRA cells, develop FRA Atlases and state-specific FRA portals, and resolve pending claims.
Tribal Communities:
* Impact: Entitled to land and community titles under FRA; protected from wrongful evictions.
* Action Required: File claims for land and community titles, utilize grievance mechanisms if rights are denied, and engage with FRA cells for claim settlement.
Ministry of Tribal Affairs:
* Impact: Nodal agency for overseeing FRA implementation and providing guidance and support to States/UTs.
* Action Required: Continue issuing directions and guidelines, conduct review meetings, provide financial support for FRA cells and portals, and monitor the progress of claim settlements.
District and Sub-Divisional Level Committees (DLCs and SDLCs):
* Impact: Responsible for the verification and recognition of forest rights at the local level.
* Action Required: Convene timely meetings, process and resolve pending claims, and ensure adherence to FRA guidelines.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Tribal Affairs: The nodal ministry in the Government of India responsible for the legislative matters of Scheduled Tribes.
Forest Rights Act 2006: Also known as FRA, is an act to recognize and vest the forest rights and occupation in forest land to forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers.
Scheduled Tribes: Officially recognized tribal communities in India, often with distinct cultural identities and historical ties to specific territories.
Gram Sabha: Village assembly, the primary body for filing claims under the Forest Rights Act (FRA).
SDLC: Sub-Divisional Level Committees, responsible for convening meetings and address field level problems.
DLC: District Level Committees, responsible for convening meetings and address field level problems.
Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan: DAJGUA, a program initiative providing financial support to districts for setting up dedicated FRA cells.
Andhra Pradesh: A state in India where land and community title claims have been filed and processed under the Forest Rights Act.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-756
TO BE ANSWERED ON- 24/07/2025
ENSURING LAND RIGHTS FOR TRIBAL COMMUNITIES
756. SHRI SAPTAGIRI SANKAR ULAKA:
Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government is aware that many tribal communities across several States are being denied
land titles under the Forest Rights Act and are being forced to vacate and if so, the details thereof;
(b) the total number of land and community title claims filed and rejected under the said Act since 2020,
State-wise;
(c) the steps taken by the Government to ensure that eligible tribal families receive individual and
community titles and that their habitat and customary rights remain protected; and
(d) whether the Government has issued any directives or instituted oversight mechanisms to prevent
wrongful evictions and expedite settlement process for pending claims through dedicated cells or digitisation
efforts and if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRIBAL AFFAIRS
(SHRI DURGA DAS UIKEY)
(a) : Ministry of Tribal Affairs, being the Nodal Ministry for administering the legislative matters of
“Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers Recognition of Forest Rights Act 2006” (in short
FRA), has been issuing directions and guidelines from time to time on various aspects to ensure proper
implementation of the Act. As per FRA and Rules made thereunder, the State Governments are responsible
for implementation of various provisions of the Act and is being implemented in 20 States and 1 UT.
FRA provides safeguards against forced eviction. Section 4(5) of FRA provides that Save as otherwise
provided, no member of a forest dwelling Scheduled Tribe or other traditional forest dwellers shall be
evicted or removed from the forest land under his occupation till the recognition and verification procedure
is complete. There is a provision of petition by aggrieved persons to SDLC and DLC [Section 6(2) and 6(4)
of FRA]. Further, the State Level Monitoring Committee under the Chair of Chief Secretary is to meet at
least once in three months to monitor the process of recognition, verification and vesting of forest rights,
consider and address field level problems.
(b): The Ministry of Tribal Affairs monitors the Monthly Progress Reports submitted by the States/UTs. As
reported by States/UTs, cumulatively till 31st May 2025, a total of 51,23,104 claims have been filed at
Gram Sabha Level, comprising 49,11,495 individual and 2,11,609 community claims. Out of which a total
of 25,11,375 (49.02%) titles were distributed, comprising 23,89,670 individual and 1,21,705 community
titles. And 18,62,056 (36.34%) claims have been rejected, comprising 18,09,017 individual and 53,039
community claims. State wise details of claims filed at Gram Sabha Level (Individual and Community),
Title distributed and claims rejected are at Annexure. The details of number of claims (individual and
community) filed at Gram Sabha Level under FRA and the total number of claims rejected since 2020,month wise and State/UT-wise are available at this Ministry’s website- on FRA- MPR-
https://tribal.nic.in/FRA.aspx.
(c) & (d): Ministry of Tribal Affairs has taken following steps to ensure that eligible tribal families receive
individual and community titles and that their habitat and customary rights remain protected and prevent
wrongful evictions and expedite settlement process:
(i) MoTA has been issuing directions and guidelines from time to time on various aspects to ensure
proper implementation of the Act. Further review meetings are regularly being held from time to time with
the State Tribal Welfare Department and concerned authorities. DC/DMs have been advised to dispose of
all pending FRA Claims in time.
(ii) Grievances /representations received in the Ministry regarding violation of FRA are forwarded to the
State / UTs concerned, to ensure that legitimate claimants are not denied their forest rights.
(iii) MoTA has been providing financial support to the districts under 'Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram
Utkarsh Abhiyan' (DA-JGUA)’ for setting up dedicated FRA cells at the State and district/subdivision
levels, for a period of two years to facilitate the settlement process for pending claims (both community and
individual), ensure timely convening of Sub-Divisional Level Committees (SDLC), District Level
Committees (DLC), and other related bodies. MoTA has also issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
for the Setting up of FRA Cells. The ministry is urging states to prepare an FRA Atlas to map the potential
forest areas which can be considered under FRA and undertake capacity building of all stakeholders.
Further, Ministry has been providing financial support to the State Tribal Welfare Department for
development and maintenance of the state-specific FRA portal (which includes dedicated server, cost of
software, hardware, security audit, digital mapping of land records and other operational costs) under DA
JGUA.Annexure
Annexure referred to in reply to part (b) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 756 to be answered
on- 24/07/2025
S. States No. of Claims received No. of Titles Distributed Claims Rejected upto
No upto 31.05.2025 upto 31.05.2025 31.05.2025
. Individu Communit Total Individu Communit Total Individu Communit Total
al y al y al y
1 Andhra 285,098 3,294 288,392 226,651 1,822 228,473 56940 1470 5841
Pradesh 0
2 Assam 148,965 6,046 155,011 57,325 1,477 58,802 NA/NR NA/NR NA/NR
3 Bihar 4,696 0 4,696 191 0 191 4496 0 4496
4 Chhattisgar 890,220 57,259 947,479 481,432 52,636 534,068 403129 3658 406787
h
5 Goa 9,757 379 10,136 856 15 871 438 9 447
6 Gujarat 183,055 7,187 190,242 98,732 4,792 103,524 0 2331 2331
7 Himachal 4,883 683 5,566 662 146 808 52 2 54
Pradesh
8 Jharkhand 107,032 3,724 110,756 59,866 2,104 61,970 26370 1737 28107
9 Karnataka 288,549 5,940 294,489 14,981 1,345 16,326 249060 4209 253269
10 Kerala 44,455 1,014 45,469 29,422 282 29,704 12539 296 12835
11 Madhya 585,326 42,187 627,513 266,901 27,976 294,877 310216 12191 322407
Pradesh
12 Maharashtr 397,897 11,259 409,156 199,667 8,668 208,335 170487 2144 172631
a
13 Odisha 701,148 35,024 736,172 462,067 8,832 470,899 144104 532 144636
14 Rajasthan 113,162 5,213 118,375 49,215 2,551 51,766 63466 2455 65921
15 Tamil 33,119 1,548 34,667 15,442 1,066 16,508 12293 418 12711
Nadu
16 Telangana 651,822 3,427 655,249 230,735 721 231,456 92744 1682 94426
17 Tripura 200,557 164 200,721 127,931 101 128,032 68785 63 68848
18 Uttar 92,972 1,194 94,166 22,537 893 23,430 70435 301 70736
Pradesh
19 Uttarakhan 3,587 3,091 6,678 184 1 185 3403 3090 6493
d
20 West 131,962 10,119 142,081 44,444 686 45,130 87333 9254 96587
Bengal
21 Jammu & 33,233 12,857 46,090 429 5,591 6,020 32727 7197 39924
Kashmir
TOTAL 4,911,495 211,609 5,123,102,389,670 121,705 2,511,37 1809017 53039 186205
4 5 6