Promise and performance of the Forest Rights Act 2006

Abstract

The study report was submitted by Dr Palla Trinadha Rao, a practicing advocate working for the rights of Scheduled Tribes. Dr. Trinadha Rao is also assisting the Tribal Welfare Department to bring out Scheduled Tribes related policy and legislations. This study makes a preliminary assessment of the potential forest area over which rights can be recognised in AP under the FRA and compares it with the actual performance. The estimate offers a baseline for informing implementation, planning, and setting targets for rights recognition under the FRA and allows policy makers and forest-dependent communities to assess the extent to which the law has been implemented. The study also provides an assessment of the FRA implementation focusing primarily on the Community Forest Resource(CFR) rights under section 3(1)(i) and the individual rights, under sections 3(1)(a)(f)(g)(m) and section 4(8). The study identifies the key bottlenecks and problems in implementation of the FRA and provides recommendations for the way forward.