Jabalpur, June 12:Scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers have been completely dependent on forests for their livelihood and they have been given rights over forest lands through the new Act framed in this connection. Forest dwellers are friends of forests and play an important role in their development and preservation. The Act would ensure that forest dwellers get forest-based material for living, livelihood and Nistar. They would have natural rights over water, forests and land in the true sense.
These views were expressed by Principal Secretary Shri O.P. Rawat at a media workshop here yesterday. The workshop was organised with a view to ensuring wide publicity and better implementation of Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition to Rights) Act 2006 and Rule 2008. He underlined the need to make traditional forest dwellers aware of their rights enshrined in the Act. Media will play historic role in this connection. Media’s positive cooperation would contribute largely towards ending historic injustice against forest dwellers. Those specially present at the workshop included Divisional Commissioner Shri Prabhat Kumar Parashar, collector Shri Sanjay Dube, Conservator of Forests Shri B.B. Singh and Additional Director Public Relations Shri R.M.P. Singh.
Principal Secretary Shri Rawat said that during colonial rule first and second Forest Acts were framed in the year 1884 and Indian Forest Act in 1927 in which adequate recognition was not given to ownership of their ancestral agricultural and residential lands to other traditional forest dwellers. That was why they remained deprived of their natural rights over forest produce, land and water. Thus far, historic injustice has been meted out to tribal people. Through this Act efforts would be undertaken to provide tribal people their natural rights by ending injustice.
Shri Rawat informed that the forest dwellers belonging to scheduled tribes, who had been tilling forest lands after encroaching on them till December 13, 2005, would have to present two proofs apart from caste certificate. Those people would be considered as other traditional forest dwellers who have been living in forests for at least last three generations (75 years) before December 31, 2005 and are dependent on forests for their livelihood, but have made houses outside forests to meet educational and other requirements. Shri Rawat informed that community rights of forest dwellers have also been recognised. Another objective of the Act is protection of wildlife, forests and bio-diversity with the help of forest dwellers.
He informed that three committees have been constituted in connection with recognition to rights. These committees are operative at Gram Sabha, sub-division and district levels. Shri Rawat also replied to the queries posed by inquisitive journalists at the workshop. He said that in recent years system of joint forest management has been adopted which has led to increased security of forests apart from creating awareness among people. He expected from media that they would leave no stone unturned in making poor and deprived forest dwellers aware of their rights.
Divisional Commissioner Shri Prabhat Kumar said that the main objective of Forest Rights Act. Wide publicity would increase awareness and lead to better implementation. Conservator of Forest Shri B.B. Singh also threw light on the Act’s provisions. Divisional deputy commissioner Tribal Development Shri Sanjay Varshney gave information about the Act through a power point presentation. Delivered a proposal speech while vote of thanks was proposed by Additional Director Public Relations Shri R.M.P Singh.