Parliament Question: Establishment of FRA Cells

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 923 To Be Answered On- 05/02/2026 Establishment of FRA Cells †923. Shri Rajkumar Roat: Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state: (a) whether the 324 District-level Forest Rights Act (FRA) cells and 17 State-level FRA cells have been approved in various States/UTs in June 2025 under the initiative taken by the Union Government; (b) if so, the objectives thereof and the details of the list of all the cells, State-wise; (c) whether the disposal of FRA claims has gained momentum in consonance with the purpose of the said Cells, if so, the details of the approved, pending and rejected figures of the claims under FRA, State-wise; and (d) the number of new applications received under FRA during the last five years and number of claims settled during the said time period, State, year and district-wise details thereof particularly in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SHRI DURGA DAS UIKEY) (a) to (c): Union Government launched 'Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan' (DA-JGUA) with one of the objectives to support the State Governments in comprehensive implementation of the Scheduled Tribes And Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition Of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 by strengthening the Institutional Mechanism and the databases. A key initiative under this mission is the establishment of FRA Cells at the State and District/Sub-division levels in the States and Union Territories where the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA) is being implemented. The State Level FRA Cell comprises three hired manpower i.e. Program Coordinator (FRA), IT/Data/ Program Expert, and MIS Assistant (FRA), and District /Sub-Divisional Level FRA Cell comprises two hired manpower i.e. Coordinator (FRA) and MIS /FRA Associate. The objective of FRA Cell is to assist in completing the process of recognition of rights, digitization of records, preparation of plans for IFR and CFR beneficiaries to avail the benefits of Govt. schemes, assist in convergence of Forest villages to revenue villages, and to create awareness amongst all stakeholders ensuring effective implementation of FRA. Based on the proposals received from the 18 State Governments and 1 UT Administration, in June 2025, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs approved the 324 District level FRA cells, 90 Sub Divisional level FRA Cells and 17 State-level FRA cells. The state-wise approved number of FRA cells is at Annexure. Additionally, the details along with financial approval, State/UT-wise, are available at this Ministry’s website — in Divisions → DA JGUA → PAC Minutes → Year & State. The link to access is- https://tribal.nic.in/display_PAC_DAJAGUAMinutes.aspx. Further, as informed by the State Government and UT Administrations where FRA Cells have been established, the awareness amongst the stakeholders through sensitization and process of digitization of FRA records have been expedited. (d): 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 implementationof 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 submitted by States/UTs. As per information provided by States/UT, during the last Five years, i.e. from 01.01.2021 to 01.01.2026, a total of 9,32,834 claims have been filed and a total of 6,82,263 claims have been settled. A statement showing year wise details of claims settled along with details of claims filed, titles distributed and claims rejected during the last five years is as given below: No. of Claims No. of Titles No. of Claims No. of Claims Reporting Period filed Distributed rejected Settled 01.01.2021 to 37786 79466 -94464 -14998 01.01.2022 01.01.2022 to 175876 183804 70210 254014 01.01.2023 01.01.2023 to 103286 88126 26477 114603 01.01.2024 01.01.2024 to 492647 146153 98083 244236 01.01.2025 01.01.2025 to 123239 48253 36155 84408 01.01.2026 Total 932834 545802 136461 682263 Further, the State wise/UT wise, details of number of claims (individual and community) received, number of claims accepted (Title distributed) during the last five years are available at this Ministry’s website- on FRA- MPR- https://tribal.nic.in/FRA.aspx.Annexure Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) to (c) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 923 to be answered on- 05.02.2026 regarding “Establishment of FRA Cells” Statement of approved Forest Right Act Cells under DA JGUA as on June 2025 S. No. States and UTs Status of Approved FRA Cells Approved at State Approved at District Approved at Sub Level Level Divisional Level 1 ANDHRA PRADESH 1 15 0 2 ASSAM 1 25 0 3 BIHAR 1 9 0 4 CHHATTISGARH 1 30 0 5 GUJARAT 1 14 0 6 HIMACHAL PRADESH 1 12 0 7 JAMMU AND KASHMIR 1 20 0 8 JHARKHAND 1 24 0 9 KARNATAKA 1 18 0 10 KERALA 1 12 0 11 MADHYA PRADESH 1 55 0 12 MAHARASHTRA 0 26 0 13 ODISHA 0 0 58 14 RAJASTHAN 1 18 0 15 TAMIL NADU 1 0 32 16 TELANGANA 1 29 0 17 TRIPURA 1 8 0 18 UTTAR PRADESH 1 1 0 19 UTTARAKHAND 1 8 0 TOTAL 17 324 90 *****