Tribals in the state are facing problem. Their claims to land rights under Forest Rights Act were rejected in bulk earlier. After Supreme Court intervened, state government promised to review rejections in large numbers. But now, claims are being rejected in large numbers even during review.
According to government figures released on July 6, 2020, only 716 out of total 3.79 lakh claims were approved by committees across the state. This is 0.25% of the total claims to be settled under the FRA.
This is despite the fact that chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had warned officials of stern action at a review meeting on June 27. “I will not let rights of poor to be snatched away. Collectors and District Forest Officers should listen carefully. No eligible tribal should be deprived of patta,” Chouhan had warned in the review meeting.
State government has launched a mobile app and portal Van Mitra to facilitate and expedite claims of 3,79,132 tribals registered on the app from across the state. However, the figures presented in Supreme Court under FRA stood at 3,60,877.
About 2.85 lakh cases are those that were rejected earlier, claims tribal welfare department. More than 93,000 new claims were filed through Van Mitra app.
Land claims under FRA are reviewed at three levels by the forest rights committees formed at panchayat level, sub-division level and at district level. As per government figures, 1,33,602 claims were reviewed by village panchayat committees. These lowest level committees have to review 2,85,625 claims. Till date, only 34,860 (12.20%) claims were approved while 98,742 (34.57%) were rejected at the gram panchayat level.
The 34,860 cases approved by village panchayat committees were sent to level two for approval. The level two, sub-divisional committee further sieved the claims and has reviewed only 9% (26,529) cases till date. In this review, only 2% (6177) of the claims were approved while a major chunk of 20,352 applications was rejected.
These 6177 claims approved by the sub-divisional committee were then sent to the district level committee out of which 2664 claims were reviewed by the district committee. At the district level committee, only 716 (0.25%) claims were approved while 1948 were rejected.
“This shows how insensitive the officials are. Despite CM’s warning, there is no change in their mindsets. Secondly, it also reflects the efficiency of officials concerned,” a senior official said wishing anonymity.
