New Delhi: As many states were unlikely to
meet the deadline of distributing land deeds among tribals and
other forest dwellers by the end of 2009, the Centre has
directed them to expedite the process.
The direction was given by the Tribal Affairs Ministry in
a letter to the states, asking them to take prompt action to
meet the deadline.
The letter was issued after the ministry found out that
only eight states have initiated steps under the Scheduled
Tribes and Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest
Rights) Act, 2007.
"The remaining states are still lagging behind with some
of them yet to initiate preparatory measures," a ministry
official said.
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, he said.
Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Karnataka and Kerala have
received claims from the tribals but have not decided on the
genuine claims.
In Arunachal Pradesh, government is yet to appoint a
nodal officer for the purpose. The implementation of the Act
is pending in Mizoram as it is yet to be approved by the state
assembly, while Manipur government is completely
"non-responsive", he said.
While Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Goa have not
fulfilled the basic requirements, implementation of the Act
was stopped in Orissa and Tamil Nadu on court orders.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, September 01, 2009, 15:46