Daily Editorial analysis:-

GS2: Scheduled Tribe justice

GS1: Social issues

Scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers (recognition of forest rights) act 2006

• This law was brought to undo ‘historical injustice’ due to lack of recognition of their ancestral land and gravitational land on state forests, resulting in eviction and displacement.
• FRA authorized Gram Sabhas to  recognise and determine forest rights of tribes and rights to preserve, protect forests, wildlife in their traditional boundaries.
• FRA mandates governments to convert forest villages to revenue villages to recognise their traditional rights. Collector of the district will conduct a survey and inquiry in the third regard.
• FRA recognizes grazing rights of forest dwellers even in the protected forest areas like wildlife sanctuaries.
• Violation of FRA is treated as crime under prevention of atrocities act.

Problems in implementation of FRA

1. Forest conservation laws like Wildlife protection act, forest conservation act are weaponized against FRA-
2. Recently the Tamil Nadu government notified Thanthai Periyar Sanctuary and excluded 6 tribal forests, as they are not yet converted to revenue villages.
3. Tamil nadu law have taken away even the grazing rights from wildlife sanctuaries, even though the WLPS permits grazing rights in sanctuaries.
4. Paltry implementation of FRA., 2006 all over India. 
5. Only 0.25% of forest villages are converted to revenue villages.
6. Indirect encroachment on their rights in the name of development.
7. Recently notified Forest Conservation Rules, which witnessed nationwide protests.
8. Easing environment impact assessment. 
9. Rigid Forest bureaucracy:
10. To Recognise the rights, evidence of habitation are asked.
11. Prolonged paper work

Thus, further delay of implementation of FRA will displace the ST community and inflict harm on wildlife and nature.