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‘Implementation of Forest Rights Act a panacea for all ills’ -K Jeevan Chinnappa
-The Hindu

Chairperson of panel for STs unhappy with State’s performance

Chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes Rameshwar Oraon is displeased over the tardy implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, by the State governments.

In an exclusive interview with The Hindu here on Thursday, Mr. Oraon said the objective of the Forest Rights Act was to facilitate welfare of the tribal people. “The rights of tribal people should be recognised first,” he said, adding that the implementation of the Act was good in Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand.

He said only eight districts in the State were notified under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. The slow progress of its implementation in Karnataka would be discussed at a review meeting in Bangalore, where the Chief Secretary would be present.

Funds from the Centre meant for the all-round development of the tribal community were being diverted, he said. In some cases, people had obtained fake ST certificates to get the benefits. The commission had written about it to the President of India on June 18. What the tribal people need is quality education and awareness of their rights, he said.

Mr. Oraon said no application seeking Scheduled Tribe status was pending before the commission, though there were more than 400 applications pending before the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. The State government should order a survey of such groups through the tribal research institutes and submit them to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. It would then be routed to the Census Commissioner and later referred to the Registrar General of India. There were 164 applications pending from Odisha alone, he said.

Referring to the clash of the critical tiger habitat guidelines under which the Forest Department was asking tribal people to leave the areas marked as critical tiger habitats, Mr. Oraon said the interests of the tribal people who have inhabited the forests ought to be considered positively. The ‘honour’ being accorded to the tigers ought to be given to the tribal people as well.

When told about the complaints of the tribal people about the alleged harassment of the Forest Department under one pretext or the other, Mr. Oraon said, “Yes, it is true. I am a tribal person myself and I have faced harassment from the Forest Department in my childhood.” Implementation of the Forest Rights Act will be the panacea for all ills, Mr. Oraon said. “The days are coming,” he said in reply to a question on whether there would be an end to such developments.

On the involvement of certain non-governmental organisations in the State in rehabilitating tribal people outside the forests, he said NGOs must confine their roles to limited functions in the forests. He also did not favour the proposal to include natural sites in Karnataka in the UNESCO’s World Heritage Site list. “Tribal people should be left to themselves, undisturbed and unhindered in the forests,” he said.

K. Kamala Kumari and B.L. Meena, both members of the commission, and a three-member team of officials, are accompanying Mr. Oraon.

Only eight districts in the State notified under the Forest Rights Act: Rameshwar Oraon

‘Central funds for all-round development of tribal community are being diverted’