Contentious Control: Chhattisgarh's Forest Management Dilemma

The Chhattisgarh forest department plans to manage tribal forest lands under the Forest Rights Act until central guidance is available, conflicting with activists' views. Despite the FRA empowering tribal communities to govern these lands, the department cites legal precedents and emphasizes the need for a supreme planning model.

The Chhattisgarh forest department is taking the controversial step of managing tribal community forest lands under the Forest Rights Act until it receives further instructions from the central government. Activists argue that this move contravenes the spirit of the FRA, which is meant to empower forest-dwelling communities to govern and protect their ancestral lands.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forests V Sreenivasa Rao referenced a 2020 order that made the forest department a key agency in community forest management, a decision later criticized by tribal rights groups and withdrawn. Rao stressed that the Supreme Court's directives necessitate scientific management and planning of forests.

The department's decision hinges on a model plan from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, which, according to the joint notification with the Environment Ministry, is yet to be provided. Until then, only Environment Ministry-approved plans will be followed, which activists claim undermines the FRA's objective.

(With inputs from agencies.)