Executive Summary:
This document presents the Ministry of Tribal Affairs' response to questions regarding the implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006, tribal sub-plan funding, employment schemes, vacancies for Scheduled Tribes, and scholarship benefits for tribal students. It details the progress made by State Governments and UT Administrations in recognizing forest rights, the monitoring of tribal sub-plan funds, and efforts to address vacancies in government positions. Data is current up to May 31, 2025.
Key Points / Main Content:
Forest Rights Act (FRA) Implementation:
* The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is the nodal ministry, issuing guidelines for the FRA's implementation.
* State Governments and UT Administrations are responsible for implementing the FRA in 20 States and 1 UT.
* As of May 31, 2025, 25,11,375 titles have been recognized, including 23,89,670 individual and 1,21,705 community titles, covering 2,32,73,947.39 acres of forest land. (Refer to Annexure I for state-wise details).
* States and UTs provide Monthly Progress Reports to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) Funding:
* Details of TSP allocations and expenditures by States/UTs are available online.
* TSP is monitored based on the Planning Commission's 2014 guidelines.
Employment Scheme (MGNREGS):
* MGNREGS is a demand-driven wage employment scheme providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment.
* The scheme mandates an extra 50 days of wage employment for Scheduled Tribe households in forest areas.
* State Governments can allocate additional employment days using their own funds.
Vacancies in Government Positions:
* The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) monitors vacancies reserved for Scheduled Tribes in the Union Government.
* Filling vacancies, including backlog reserved vacancies, is a continuous process.
* Ministries/Departments have been instructed to form In-House Committees to identify and fill backlog vacancies through Special Recruitment Drives.
* As of January 1, 2025, more than 4.65 lakh backlog vacancies have been filled since 2016, including over 1.15 lakh ST vacancies.
* Representation of ST in the total employee strength reported by Ministries/Departments to DoPT is 8.8%.
* As of March 31, 2024, 0.88 lakh (10.85%) employees in Central Public Sector Enterprises were from Scheduled Tribes.
Scholarship Schemes:
* Data on tribal students benefiting from pre-matric and post-matric scholarship schemes during the last 3 years is provided (Refer to Annexure II for state-wise details).
Impact Analysis:
State Governments/UT Administrations:
* Impact: Responsible for implementing the Forest Rights Act and various provisions of MGNREGS, as well as reporting progress to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
* Action Required: Continue implementing the FRA, monitor TSP funds, and ensure proper implementation of MGNREGS.
Ministries/Departments of the Central Government:
* Impact: Responsible for addressing vacancies reserved for Scheduled Tribes and ensuring compliance with reservation policies.
* Action Required: Constitute In-House Committees to identify and fill backlog reserved vacancies, designate Liaison Officers, and set up Special Reservation Cells.
Scheduled Tribe (ST) Communities/Individuals:
* Impact: Beneficiaries of the Forest Rights Act, MGNREGS, and pre-matric and post-matric scholarship schemes.
* Action Required: Participate in FRA implementation processes, utilize MGNREGS for employment, and apply for available scholarship schemes.
Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT):
* Impact: Monitors the progress of vacancies in posts reserved for Scheduled Tribes candidates in the Union Government.
* Action Required: Continue to monitor and oversee the progress of filling reserved vacancies across government departments and public sector undertakings.
Key Entities Referenced
Forest Rights Act, 2006: A legislative act concerning the rights of tribal communities and other traditional forest dwellers to forest resources.
Ministry of Tribal Affairs: The nodal ministry responsible for administering the legislative matters of the Scheduled Tribes.
Scheduled Tribes: A group of historically disadvantaged indigenous peoples in India recognized by the Constitution.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme: A demand-driven wage employment scheme aimed at enhancing livelihood security in rural areas.
Kerala: A state in India mentioned in relation to its 'Tribal Plus' programme, which provides additional employment under MGNREGS for tribal families.
Union Government: The central government of India, which includes its departments, Public Sector Undertakings, and educational institutions, with respect to reserved posts for Scheduled Tribes candidates.
Department of Personnel and Training: The department that monitors the progress of vacancies in posts reserved for Scheduled Tribes candidates in the Union Government.
Andhra Pradesh: A state in India reporting data on titles distributed and extent of forest land under the Forest Rights Act, 2006
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS
LOK SABHA
STARRED QUESTION NO. 73
TO BE ANSWERED ON 24.07.2025
IMPLEMENTATION OF FOREST RIGHTS ACT, 2006
*73. SHRI BENNY BEHANAN:
SHRI K RADHAKRISHNAN:
Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:
(a) the details on the implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 particularly on
the recognition of individual and community forest rights in the country, State-wise;
(b) the details of funds allocated and utilised under the Tribal Sub-Plan during the
last five years and the manner in which their impact is being monitored;
(c) whether the Government is planning to introduce any nationwide scheme similar
to Kerala's ‘Tribal Plus’ programme that ensures additional employment under
MGNREGS for tribal families and if so, the details thereof;
(d) the status of vacancies in posts reserved for Scheduled Tribes candidates in Union
Government departments, Public Sector Undertakings and educational institutions;
and
(e) the number of tribal students benefited from pre-matric and post-matric
scholarship schemes during the last three years, State/UT-wise?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS
(SHRI JUAL ORAM)
(a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.Statement referred in reply to Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 73 for answer
on 24.07.2025 regarding “Implementation of Forest Rights Act, 2006” by Shri
Benny Behanan and Shri K Radhakrishnan
(a): Ministry of Tribal Affairs, being the Nodal Ministry for administering the
legislative matters of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers
(Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 and Rules made thereunder, by exercising
power under Section 12 of the Act, 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, respective State Governments/ UT Administrations
are responsible for implementation of various provisions of the FR Act and are being
implemented in 20 States and 1 UT.
Ministry of Tribal Affairs seeks a Monthly Progress Report from the States/UTs,
as per the latest information reported by States and collated under MPR till 31st May,
2025, a total of 25,11,375 titles have been recognised, comprising 23,89,670
individual and 1,21,705 community titles over the extent of 2,32,73,947.39 acres
of forest land. The state wise details are enclosed at Annexure I.
(b): The details of allocation and expenditure for TSP by States/UTs, out of their
own funds, are available at https://statetsp.tribal.gov.in Monitoring of TSP is done
based on the State TSP Guidelines issued by the Planning Commission in 2014.
(c) : As informed by Ministry of Rural Development, Mahatma Gandhi National
Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS) is a demand -
driven wage employment Scheme. It provides for the enhancement of livelihood
security of the households in rural areas of the country by providing at least one
hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in every financial year to every
household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. It also
mandates an extra 50 days of wage employment for Scheduled Tribe households in
forest areas and provides for an additional 50 days of wage employment in drought
or natural calamity-affected rural areas. State Governments may allocate additional
days of employment beyond the guaranteed period using their funds.
Implementation of the scheme is the responsibility of the State and several
provisions for proper implementation have been provided in the Mahatma Gandhi
NREGS.
(d): Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) monitors the progress of
vacancies in posts reserved for Scheduled Tribes candidates in the Union
Government. As informed by DoPT, “Occurrence and filling of vacancies, along
with backlog reserved vacancies, is a continuous process. Instructions have been
issued to all Ministries/Departments of the Central Government to constitute an In-
House Committee for identification of backlog reserved vacancies, to study the root
cause of such vacancies, to initiate measures to remove the factors causing suchvacancies and to fill them up through Special Recruitment Drives. The details of
vacancies are maintained by the respective Ministry/ Department.
Ministries/Departments of the Central Government have been directed, from time to
time, to fill up the vacant posts in a time bound manner. Each Ministry/Department
of the Central Government is required to designate an officer of the rank of Deputy
Secretary and above, as Liaison Officer, to ensure due compliance of the orders and
instructions pertaining to reservation. Further, each Ministry/Department is required
to set up a Special Reservation Cell under the direct control of the Liaison Officer
to assist her/him in discharge of duties. However, it is informed that as per the data
furnished by the Ministries/ Departments as on 1.1.2025, more than 4.65 lakh
backlog vacancies have been filled since 2016, including more than 1.15 lakh ST
vacancies. Further, the representation of ST in the total employee strength reported
by Ministries/ Departments to DoPT is 8.8%.”
In addition to the above, the Department of Public Enterprises has been informed
that- “As per information available in Public Enterprises Survey 2023-24 (as on
31.3.2024), out of the 8.12 lakh total employees in operating Central Public Sector
Enterprises, 0.88 lakh (10.85%) were from Scheduled Tribes”.
(e): The number of tribal students benefited from pre-matric and post-matric
scholarship schemes during the last 3 years is enclosed at Annexure-II.Annexure-I
Annexure-I referred to in reply to part (a) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No.
73 for answer on 24.07.2025 regarding “Implementation of Forest Rights Act,
2006” by Shri Benny Behanan and Shri K Radhakrishnan
State wise details of claims received, titles distributed and the extent of forest land
for which titles distributed (individual and community), as on 31.05.2025, is
indicated below:
S. N States/ UT No. of Titles Distributed Extent of Forest land for which titles dis
o. tributed (in acres)
Individua Communit Total Individua Commun Total
l y l ity
1 Andhra Pradesh 226,651 1,822 228,473 454,706 526,454 981,160.00
2 Assam 57,325 1,477 58,802 NA/NR NA/NR NA/NR
3 Bihar 191 0 191 53.03 0.00 53
4 Chhattisgarh 481,432 52,636 534,068 949,770.8 9,102,957 10,052,728.
9 .49 38
5 Goa 856 15 871 1,506.45 18.66 1,525.11
6 Gujarat 98,732 4,792 103,524 168,448.8 1,240,680 1,409,128.9
3 .15 9
7 Himachal Prade 662 146 808 126.65 62,677.24 62,803.89
sh
8 Jharkhand 59,866 2,104 61,970 153,395.8 103,758.9 257,154.83
6 7
9 Karnataka 14,981 1,345 16,326 20,077.30 36,340.52 56,417.82
10 Kerala 29,422 282 29,704 38,810.58 788,651.2 827,461.83
5
11 Madhya Prades 266,901 27,976 294,877 903,533.0 1,463,614 2,367,147.5
h 6 .46 2
12 Maharashtra 199,667 8,668 208,335 461,491.2 3,371,497 3,832,988.6
5 .43 8
13 Odisha 462,067 8,832 470,899 674,775.3 743,193.3 1,417,968.7
3 9 2
14 Rajasthan 49,215 2,551 51,766 70,387.18 239,763.9 310,151.13
5
15 Tamil Nadu 15,442 1,066 16,508 22,104.80 60,468.77 82,573.57
16 Telangana 230,735 721 231,456 669,689.1 457,663.1 1,127,352.3
4 7 2
17 Tripura 127,931 101 128,032 465,192.8 552.40 465,745.28
8
18 Uttar Pradesh 22,537 893 23,430 NA/NR NA/NR NA/NR
19 Uttarakhand 184 1 185 0.00 0.00 0.00
20 West Bengal 44,444 686 45,130 21,014.27 572.03 21,586.29
21 Jammu & Kash 429 5,591 6,020 NA/NR NA/NR NA/NR
mir
TOTAL 2,389,670 121,705 2,511,37 5075083.5 18198863 23273947.3
5 1 .89 9
NA/NR-Related figure is either not available or not reported.Annexure -II
Annexure-II referred to in reply to part (e) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 73 for answer on
24.07.2025 regarding “Implementation of Forest Rights Act, 2006” by Shri Benny Behanan and Shri
K Radhakrishnan
Details of Beneficiaries to State Governments/UT Administrations thereof under
the Scheme of Post-Matric Scholarship for ST students
Sl.No. Name of the State/UT A.Y. 2022-23 A.Y. 2023-24 A.Y. 2024-25
1 A.& N. Islands 386 193 311
2 Andhra Pradesh 129032 79780 67888
3 Arunachal Pradesh 46330 42417 45125
4 Assam 62140 58774 77350
5 Bihar 3768 1444 3428
6 Chhattisgarh 34184 40552 34022
7 DNH DD 2208 1053 1627
8 Goa 4439 3274 3163
9 Gujarat 262538 226456 233161
10 Himachal Pradesh 4303 4390 4937
11 Jammu & Kashmir 10430 7319 15309
12 Jharkhand 147633 148676 65104
13 Karnataka 131968 123707 125823
14 Kerala 17652 12721 13072
15 Ladakh 8619 9413 8969
16 Madhya Pradesh 391317 353486 326410
17 Maharashtra 106817 130359 33432
18 Manipur 42572 33542 32275
19 Meghalaya 61360 76755 73902
20 Mizoram 38784 31685 2847121 Nagaland 40638 42485 41793
22 Odisha 204172 213957 230366
23 Puducherry 18 11 10
24 Rajasthan 236628 168516 *
25 Sikkim 2650 1849 2411
26 Tamil Nadu 23529 25216 28273
27 Telangana 114911 131505 131032
28 Tripura 37380 33678 33506
29 Uttar Pradesh 9655 9676 10427
30 Uttarakhand 3534 3972 4766
31 West Bengal 63208 37760 29528
Total 2242803 2054621 1705891
*- beneficiary data not reported by State/UT
Details of Beneficiaries to State Governments/UT Administrations thereof under the
Scheme of Pre-Matric Scholarship for ST students
Sl.No. Name of the State/UT A.Y. 2022-23 A.Y. 2023-24 A.Y. 2024-25
1 Andaman & Nicobar 260 173 281
2 Andhra Pradesh 40465 0 0
3 Arunachal Pradesh 5178 2852 2831
4 Assam 5688 4353 8075
5 Bihar 26450 8451 15139
6 Chhattisgarh 28642 44837 27171
7 DNH & DD 2017 1273 1162
10 Goa 2108 1670 1698
11 Gujarat 157553 121083 12488612 Himachal Pradesh 2479 2616 3260
13 Jammu & Kashmir 4689 2548 8371
14 Jharkhand 129269 114519 129142
15 Karnataka 98705 97191 104211
16 Kerala 7604 7323 10312
17 Ladakh 760 2228 2029
18 Madhya Pradesh 255944 259997 212347
19 Manipur 1836 3470 3916
20 Meghalaya 1588 5590 6149
21 Mizoram 10312 8911 8807
22 Nagaland * * *
23 Odisha 79252 106691 122029
24 Puducherry 21 11 14
25 Rajasthan 73816 76272 57037
26 Sikkim 49 62 377
27 Tamil Nadu 15325 17557 19178
28 Telangana 9255 2460 *
29 Tripura 15017 11601 12597
30 Uttar Pradesh 1579 2329 3211
31 Uttarakhand 1464 902 *
32 West Bengal 23979 21789 24333
Total 1001304 928759 908563
*- beneficiary data not reported by State/UT
*****