-Hindustan Times The law provides for giving land rights to those living on forest land for at least three generations before December 31, 2005. The Supreme Court has asked the governments of 17 states to evict an estimated one million tribal and other households living in forests after their claims of the right to live in forests were rejected under the Forest Rights Act. The court has asked the evictions to be...

-Mongabay.com * Indian government enacted the Forest Rights Act in 2006 to correct the historic injustice done to tribal people and forest dwellers but the implementation of the landmark legislation has been far from satisfactory. * A recent study reveals a large variation in the outcomes of claims submitted under the FRA Act across states. It found that states with more forest cover have higher claim distribution rates, while states with presence...

-Mongabay.com * Chhattisgarh has a strong mineral base, forests and a large tribal population. As a result there are many conflicts over land use and access to natural resources. * The Forest Rights Act 2006 has given legal space for tribal communities to access their resources. Chhattisgarh has achieved good numbers in the implementation of individual and forest rights. * However, there are problems in the qualitative implementation of the rights and these...

-Scroll.in It contends that the draft policy released in March undermines the rights of Adivasis and other forest dwellers. The Union tribal affairs ministry has criticised the environment ministry’s draft National Forest Policy, contending that it will promote the privatisation of forests and undermine the rights of communities who live in them. In a letter to the environment secretary CK Mishra on June 19, Leena Nair, the tribal affairs secretary, noted...

-Livemint.com Odisha is a front-runner in women’s land ownership, much of it owing to government policies from the 1980s. But has ownership led to empowerment? Surrounded by sun-drenched paddy fields interspersed with jackfruit and banana trees, Sanakusupadu is a hamlet in Odisha’s tribal-dominated district of Rayagada. Here, almost every married woman owns land. No matter how small the holding, land documents of the 62 households in this village bear the names of the...