Gujarat government rejects 40 per cent of tribal claims over forest land

AHMEDABAD: As India gears up to mark “World Tribal Day” on August 9, new figures from the Rajya Sabha reveal a significant challenge: over 40 per cent of tribal claims under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) have been rejected by the Gujarat government.

As of June 30, a total of 182,869 individuals and 7,187 communities have filed land claims under the FRA. However, the government has only granted land to 97,690 individuals and 4,791 communities, denying a substantial number of applications.

This data underscores a major issue in the FRA implementation as the state prepares for its commemorative event.

In response to the query of Rajya Sabha MP P Wilson, on the details of individual and community title claims made and approved under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) for Scheduled Tribe communities and other traditional forest dwellers over the past five years, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has released comprehensive statistics on the approved and rejected FRA claims nationwide.