Empower Gram Sabha to frame plans for community forest management

--implementation of FRA in Municipal areas demanded

BHUBANESWAR: Gram sabhas should be empowered to frame rules and plans for management of community forest resources and other forests, which should be respected by the State agencies, opined the participants here on Friday in a State-level consultation organised by the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD) Odisha on amendment of the Forest Rights Rules for realising the true spirit as devised in the Preamble of Forest Rights Act, 2006.

In the consultation, welcoming the proposed Amendment on the Forest Rights Rules circulated by Ministry of Tribal Affairs for comments, CSD invited different NGOs, social organisations, community-based organisations and forest dwellers of different organisations for a debate in the consultation to send valuable changes which would not only help but also empower the rights of the tribals and forest dwellers in the State.  

Recommending constitution of the Hamlet level gram sabha, CSD suggested that the rule should direct panchayats to prepare lists of all settlements within the gram panchayat. All hamlets, habitations or groups of hamlets require gram sabhas of their own, in general and in particular in scheduled areas, it added.

The members CSD also demanded that any action that would damage a community forest resource, or that would violate a decision of a gram sabha in a forest area to protect forests, should require the prior informed consent of the concerned gram sabha.

Raising concern over non recognition of forest Rights of the other traditional forest dwellers in the State, CSD State convener Gopinath Majhi demanded that the decisions or recommendations of the Gram Sabha should be final and the evidence of occupation of a particular piece of land from 1930 is not required. Only evidence of residence in forest areas for three generations is required, he added.

Even the members of CSD demanded for implementation of FRA in the Municipal areas where community people have dependency over forest and forest land.

In the consultation, besides, CSD members, tribals and forest dwellers of different organizations, intellectuals like journalist Rabi Das and activist Prafulla Samantara were present.