A group of 63 retired IFS officers from different States have written letters to the top brass at the Centre, including the Prime Minister, Union Ministers of the MoEF&CC and Ministry of Tribal Affairs, expressing concern over the alleged misuse of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2006.
The officers have alleged that in the recent past, some States have granted title for lakhs of acres of forest lands by misusing loopholes in the rules and ambiguous guidelines issued from Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA). They said that as per the Forest Rights Act, claimants who were in possession of forest land as on December 13, 2005, are eligible for grant of title over forest land.
“In recent years, District Level Committees, ostensibly under directions of political executives, are misusing FRA/Rules especially that relate to the oral evidence of village elders, by not taking satellite imagery-based evidence into consideration, and by avoiding to take cognizance of gram sabhas conducted for the purpose repeatedly without following the provision regarding extension of time limits for claim submission. As a result occupational/cultivation rights/titles (generally called patta)are being recognised in favour of ineligible claimants who occupied forest land even after the cut-off date of 13.12.2005,” they said in the letter.
