In Depth - Rights of Forest Dwellers

India's forests are home to lakhs of people, including the many Scheduled Tribes...who live in or near forest areas of the country....

In 2006, the Forest Rights Act was passed to give legal rights to these forest dwellers, their homes, lands and livelihoods.

The Act is crucial to the rights of millions of tribals and other forest dwellers spread across multiple states of our country, as it provides for the restitution of deprived forest rights...

But several wildlife groups say the Act has encouraged further encroachment on the already battered forest lands. Challenging the constitutional validity of the Forest Rights Act, they filed several petitions in the apex court in 2008.

In the long drawn case, the Supreme Court on February 13 this year, directed 21 states to evict illegal forest dwellers whose claims over the land have been rejected by the authorities. The eviction order could HAVE affected 11.8 lakh forest dwellers residing in different parts of the country.

However, following the Centre's appeal, the apex court has put on hold the eviction order passed on 13th February .

Anchor - Teena Jha

Видео In Depth - Rights of Forest Dwellers канала Rajya Sabha TV