New Delhi: The UPA government's ambitious plan to distribute land deeds among tribals and other forest dwellers by the year end may hit a road block with many states not taking even preparatory measures in this direction.
According to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, only eight
states have begun implementing the Scheduled Tribes and
Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights)
Act, 2007 by starting the process of distributing land deeds
among the bonafide tribals and other forest dwellers.
The states which have started the process are Andhra
Pradesh, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya
Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tripura where some tribals and forest
dwellers have received land deeds after proper verification
and approval at different levels, sources in the ministry
said.
However, all the remaining states are lagging behind in
implementing the Act with some of them yet to initiate the
preparatory measures like formation of gram sabhas and
empowered committees at district and state level for receiving
and approving forest land claims from the targetted sections.
The government had made its intentions clear on
completing this process in the country by the end of 2009
through the Presidential Address to the joint sitting of
Parliament on June 4.
In her speech, President Pratibha Patil had said that
the new government will "monitor" implementation of the Act
"to ensure" that all title deeds are distributed under its
provisions to beneficiaries "by the end of 2009".
Maharashtra government has implemented the Act and also
received 2,45,284 claims from the tribals, but it is yet to
distribute title deeds to the beneficiaries completing the
process of verification and approval, sources said.
The state is now ready with only 1,384 title deeds for
distribution.
In the tribal-dominated state of Arunachal Pradesh, the
state's social welfare department has been selected as the
nodal agency for the implementation of the Act.
But the state government is yet to appoint a nodal
officer for the purpose of the Act, besides forming Gram
Sabhas and other committees.
The implementation of the Act is pending in Mizoram as it
is yet to be approved by the legislative assembly of the state
as per the Constitutional provisions.
The Manipur government is completely "non-responsive" on
the implementation of the Act, sources said.
It is yet to communicate to the ministry as to why no
action has been initiated on the issue. "The state (Manipur)
also skipped the review meeting of the ministry held last year
to discuss the status of the implementation of the Act,"
sources added.
The Himachal Pradesh government has also not fulfilled
the basic requirements like formation of Gram Sabhas in all
panchayats.
The sources said while the Meghalaya government has
appointed a nodal officer, it is yet to take any step to set
up Gram Sabhas and other committees.
The situation is almost similar in Goa, where government
is yet to constitute empowered committees at district and
state levels.
The Uttar Pradesh government, though has initiated
process for the implementation of the Act and has received
28,369 claims from tribals, it is yet to finally approve the
genuine claims and distribute title deeds.
Forest Rights Committees are yet to be constituted in all
gram panchayats of Uttar Pradesh and Uttrakhand, the sources
said.
Governments of Assam, Bihar, Karnataka and Kerala have
received claims from the tribals but have not decided on the
genuine claims.
Likewise, the implementation of the Act was stopped in
Orissa and Tamil Nadu following orders from courts, the
sources said.
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, August 23, 2009, 23:21