Kalahandi forest dwellers allege FRA violation by state forest department
Activists say that in 3 villages of Kalahand district, the Odisha forest department is imposing on the rights of forest …
10 highlights of the new draft national forest policy
On June 15, India's environment ministry placed the draft national forest policy in public domain for comments and suggestions. It is slated …
Pluck a problem
The government in Himachal Pradesh finds itself in a tight spot as a court order forces it to manage apple orchards on encroached forestlands
A new roadblock
Tribal affairs ministry objects to Maharashtra's Village Forest Rules that violate FRA. Other ministeries pressure it to backtrack
Saharias face exile, again
Displaced from Kuno wildlife sanctuary earlier, the tribe is being evicted again for a dam
Between Maoists and mines
Ho tribals lose hold of Saranda as mining is set to take over the pristine sal forest. A report and photographs by Sayantan Bera
‘Attacks against land rights activists rising in India, Asia’
Special legislation and quick response systems needed to provide protection and support to these defenders, experts said at a meeting in Udaipur
IFR review: States do dubious paperwork, cite baseless reasons for refusing forest rights to tribals, DTE finds
IFR claimants are being used as bait to prove that tribal communities clear forest land for cultivation, experts feel
Forest conservation & consent: How Gram Sabhas halted risky projects in the past
The new rules for the the Forest Conservation Act (FCA) gazetted June 28, have repealed and replaced the earlier 2003 Forest Conservation Rules …
How the Van Gujjars perceive the Wildlife Protection Amendment Act, 2021
Can amendments to the Wild Life (Protection) Act reduce injustices meted out forest dwellers in the name of fortress conservation
One square meal: How this non-tribal forest-dweller family survives without FRA recognition in Odisha
Srikumar Khadi’s claim to his land in Odisha’s Sundergarh district is over a century old; but it still awaits recognition
Villages inside forest near Guwahati struggle for basic amenities
Lack of health infrastructure and medical personnel in inaccessible areas is a perennial problem in Assam
Why the Dangs has not been able to implement FRA properly
The ‘real owner’ of forest land is still the forest department. Such brazen violation of the law betrays a systematic attempt to …
Chhattisgarh High Court prevents PSU from evicting forest rights title holders
Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation had started mining in Sarguja district’s Pathrai village, where 50 Individual Forest Rights …
FRA: Deadline gone, states yet to submit data on rejected claims to FSI
The Supreme Court had ordered states that had not given requisite data to the FSI by August 31
Sonbhadra women, others seek to participate in Supreme Court FRA hearing
Two ST women demand “equal and independent” rights to women over forest land
Forest Rights Act: A litmus test for govt to protect forest dwellers
It is now the turn of the BJP-led central government, which won 38 out of 48 reserved seats for Scheduled Tribes across the country, to stand by …
Wanted: Better governance models for India’s forests
While the Forest Rights Act empowered Gram Sabhas to manage and conserve forests, the Joint Forest Management mechanism could not succeed due to …
‘The IFA amendment is a zero draft; all stakeholders will be involved later’
Director General of Forests, Siddhanta Das tells DTE that the proposed amendment in the Indian Forest Act is a mostly techno-legal exercise and …
Gujarat land activists allege detention for demonstrating over rights
Protesters seek land rights under Forest Rights Act, roll back of decision to give land to corporations for farming
SC seeks reports on rejected forest rights claims from states
The apex court has been hearing a petition filed by retired forest officials and some conservation-related non-profits, who want the FRA to be …
Green clearances are being increasingly treated as a mere formality
In the garb of streamlining green clearances, the Union government has sidelined communities and diluted environmental regulations over the past …
100 gram sabhas in Odisha’s Kalahandi district to assert rights on bamboo, kendu
In Odisha, both these commodities are nationalised, thereby curtailing the rights of the people on them
Habitat rights of Odisha’s tribal group denied; their livelihood also at stake
The bone of contention is the core area of the Similipal Tiger Reserve where the Mankidia tribe eke out a living by collecting Siali fibre
Implementation of forest rights in protected areas virtually non-existent, claims new report
Implementation of FRA in protected areas has been virtually non-existent and claims filed under FRA lie pending for as long as since 2009