The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) signed an ‘Joint Communication’ in New Delhi to give more powers to the Tribal communities in managing the forest resources.
- The Joint Communication is related to the effective implementation of the Schedule Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (commonly known as Forest Rights Act).
- The signing ceremony was held in a hybrid mode and was attended by Forest Secretary, Rameshwar Prasad Gupta; Tribal Secretary, Anil Kumar Jha and revenue secretaries of all states.
Forest Rights Act, 2006
i.The Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006 recognizes the rights of the forest dwelling tribal communities and other traditional forest dwellers to forest resources, on which these communities were dependent for a variety of needs, including livelihood, habitation and other socio-cultural needs.
ii.It empowers the forest dwellers to access and use the forest resources in the manner that they were traditionally accustomed, to protect, conserve and manage forests, protect forest dwellers from unlawful evictions and also provides for basic development facilities for the community of forest dwellers to access facilities of education, health, nutrition, infrastructure etc.
iii.According to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), nearly 23% of India’s landscape comprises forest area, and 200 million citizens are dependent on forests for their livelihood.
Recent Related News:
February 2, 2021, The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has included 14 additional Minor Forest Produce (MFP) items under the Minimum Support Price (MSP) Scheme to ensure that Tribal Gatherers get fair prices for their Forest Produces.
About Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA)
Union Minister – Arjun Munda (Lok Sabha – Khunti, Jharkhand)
Minister of State – Renuka Singh Saruta (Lok Sabha – Surguja, Chhattisgarh)
