PANAJI
Close to two-decades since the implementation of the Forest Rights Act 2006, the Goa government has managed to issue sanads or land titles to only 8 per cent of the claimants from the total 10,136 claims made so far by the Scheduled Tribes (ST) and other traditional forest dwellers. The State has also missed the March 31, 2024 deadline set before the Supreme Court, who is monitoring the matter nationwide.
The ‘Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act’ in Goa came into force in 2006 and thereafter the State commenced accepting claims for grant of land titles to the backward community. According to sources, as of December 2024, only 875 such claimants have received ownership documents.
Sources informed that under the Forest Rights Act 10,136 claims filed by the tribals and other traditional forest dwellers have been pending for a long time and that the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has taken initiative to speed up the disposal process.
Of these, 9,757 pertain to individuals, while 379 are community claims. So far, the government appointed forest rights committee (FRC) has conducted spot verification of 6,997 claims. While gram sabhas have approved 4,760 claims, the sub-division level committee has cleared 2,629 claims, which were forwarded to the district-level committee, sources said, explaining the process.
The district-level committee cleared 1,741 claims.
“After following the process under the Forest Rights Act, 875 tribals and other traditional forest dwellers have been issued “sanads” as on December 2024,” sources said.
Sources said that the lack of co-operation from the claimants and non-submission of required documents has delayed the entire process. Also, the forest dwellers skip the spot verification process or gram sabhas, which is mandatory for them to attend.
As per the provisions of the act, when a forest-dweller files a claim for the land title, it passes through three levels of checks – the gram sabha, the sub-divisional level committee (SDLC) and the district-level committee (DLC).
Once the claim is received, FRC does an on-ground verification along with the forest department officials and claimants. The gram sabhas have to initiate the process for determining the nature and extent of individual or community forest rights or both that may be given to the forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers within the local limits of its jurisdiction under the Act by receiving claims, consolidating and verifying them then pass a resolution to that effect and thereafter forward a copy of the same to the Sub-Divisional Level Committee.
