GS Paper II

News Excerpt:

The notification of the Thanthai Periyar Sanctuary in Erode district has led forest dwellers to express fears that this is a prelude to the denial of their rights under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006 (FRA).

Background:

• The Thanthai Periyar Sanctuary is constituted from the North and South Bargur, Thamarai Karai, Ennamangalam, and Nagalur reserved forests in Anthiyur Taluk. 
• It is located between the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve of Tamil Nadu and the Male Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary and the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary of Karnataka.
• Six tribal forest villages – denied basic rights and facilities because these are not revenue villages – have been excluded from the sanctuary. But these settlements are confined to an arbitrary area of 3.42 sq. km.
• The notification that created the Sanctuary concedes that the rights admitted under the Tamil Nadu Forest Act 1882 – a time when forests were reserved – and those conferred under the FRA “shall remain and continue to be enjoyed by the persons concerned”. 
• The issue here is that Tamil Nadu has been one of the most laggard States in implementing the FRA in the country.

About Forest Rights Act:

• The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006 (also known as the Forest Rights Act or FRA) is a legislation in India that recognizes and vest forest rights and occupation in forest lands to forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers who have been residing in forests for generations but whose rights have not been recognized.
• FRA requires and authorises the gram sabhas to determine and recognise forest rights, and protect and preserve the forests, wildlife, and biodiversity within their customary and traditional boundaries, including inside Protected Areas. These responsibilities were earlier vested with the Forest Department.
• Objectives:
• To undo the historical injustice occurred to the forest dwelling communities
• To ensure land tenure, livelihood and food security of the forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers
• To strengthen the conservation regime of the forests by including the responsibilities and authority of Forest Rights holders for sustainable use, conservation of biodiversity and maintenance of ecological balance.

About Forest villages:

• The majority of the residents of forest villages, which are found inside forested areas, are indigenous and tribal groups. The inhabitants of these communities, many of which date back many generations, depend on the forest's resources for their subsistence.
• In 1990, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) had ordered that all forest villages be converted to revenue villages. 
• The FRA, enacted 18 years ago, also required all forest villages to be converted to revenue villages.
• The actual land use of the village in its entirety, including lands required for current or future community uses, like schools, health facilities and public spaces were to be recorded as part of the revenue village. 
• These rights continue to be denied to date.

What are the rights in the new Sanctuary?

• Cattle-grazers can no longer graze in the Thanthai Periyar Sanctuary. 
• Bargur cattle, a traditional breed native to the Bargur forest hills, now may be prevented from accessing their traditional grazing grounds. 
• In March 2022, the Madras High Court revised an older order imposing a total ban on cattle grazing in all the forests of Tamil Nadu and restricted the ban to National Parks, Sanctuaries, and Tiger Reserves. 
• Tamil Nadu is the only state in the country where there is such a ban.
• This order is despite the FRA, which, aside from other community rights, recognised grazing (both settled or transhumant).
• Traditional seasonal resource access of nomadic or pastoralist communities in all forests, including in National Parks, Sanctuaries, and Tiger Reserves. 
• Grazing rights are community rights of the habitation-level villages and are to be regulated by their gram sabhas.

Wildlife Protection Act 1972:

• Sanctuaries and National Parks are notified under the Wildlife (Protection) Act (WLPA) 1972. 
• People inside Sanctuaries continue to enjoy all their rights unless prohibited, but they don’t in National Parks. 
• No new rights are permitted once the notice of intent is issued.

How do FRA and WLPA compare?

• Being a later law, the FRA overrides the WLPA. 

• • All provisions in the WLPA that contravene provisions in the FRA are null and void. 
  • As a result, when notifying a Protected Area under the WLPA, the government needs to determine rights under the FRA and acquire the consent of the gram sabhas. (The government specifically incorporated these requirements in a 2006 amendment vis-à-vis the notification of Tiger Reserves).

• The FRA became operational when its Rules were notified in January 2008. 
• Since then, until 2023, the country has acquired 15,605 sq. km of Protected Areas – nine National Parks of 3,462 sq. km and 77 Sanctuaries of 12,143 sq km – while disregarding the changed legal regime. 
• Of these, Tamil Nadu’s share has been 15 Sanctuaries spanning 4,146.7 sq. km.
• The FRA violations, in the case of Scheduled Tribes, are also crimes under the 2016 amendment to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. 

Tamil Nadu and FRA:

• According to the 2011 Census, there were 1,808 revenue villages in Tamil Nadu with numerous habitations in them accessing 15,826.9 sq. km of forests within revenue boundaries. 
• But as of September 2023, the State had recognised and issued individual titles to an extent of just 38.96 sq. km – a paltry coverage of 0.25%.
• Reportedly, the State has issued 531 community titles but the extent of the area thus titled remains a mystery.

Way Forward:

• Need urgent change: The Indian Forest Act 1927 and its clones, such as the Tamil Nadu Forest Act 1882, the WLPA, the Forest (Conservation) Act 1980, and the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act 2016 are all erected on this colonial edifice.
• Sustainable forest management requires addressing the issues raised by communities who live near forests and making sure that laws are followed.
• Values and Protection: Just and efficient forest governance depends on striking a balance between the rights of forest communities and conservation objectives.