Grant of title can restore rights of people to retain, use forestland

Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi had recently announced that the state government would give the rights of forestland under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, to people. The announcement has raised hopes of over 350 persons in Kangra who have filed claims under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, and have been waiting for years together to get land title.

People claiming rights to make a judicious use of forest resources in their areas are generally traditional Gaddi and Gujjar shepherds, who have been migrating for centuries along with their herds of sheep and cattle in the forests of Chamba and Kangra districts. However, these communities, who have been living in harmony with forests around them, are facing challenges, as forest and wildlife officials are forcing them out of their traditional grazing grounds.

Recently, Gujjars were not allowed to take their cattle to pastures falling in the Pong Dam wildlife sanctuary areas and in the forests of Chamba district. The Gaddi shepherds are facing similar challenges in the Dhauladhar wildlife sanctuary areas in Chotta Bhangal of Kangra district.

The Forest Rights Act, 2006, gives rights to traditional communities to make a judicious use of the resources in forests where they have been dwelling for centuries. Forest rights have been given to migratory communities in some areas but still a lot needs to be done.

As per the procedure, people can claim forest rights in their own gram sabhas. The gram sabhas and local revenue officials need to endorse these rights. Thereafter, the claim is presented before a sub-divisional level committee headed by a SDM. After the subdivision- level committee accepts the claim, it is put before the district-level committee headed by the Deputy Commissioner, who approves and finally allots the title under the Forest Rights Act to a person or a community.

In Kangra, the sources say that most of the claims under the Forest Rights Act are pending with the district-level committee.

In the recent past, after a push from the Chief Minister’s office, the subdivision-level committee accepted the claims of 89 Pong Dam oustees residing on forestland in Dehra for this purpose. The claims were sent to the district-level committee headed by the Kangra Deputy Commissioner. After the district-level committee approves the claims, the land titles under the Forest Rights Act will be issued to landless Pong Dam oustees, who were being called encroachers on their own land for the past more than three decades.

They became encroachers on their own land after the then Himachal Government converted the entire common land into forest in 1980s.

The sources say that around 1.5 lakh families in the state are directly dependent on forestland. The area of forestland of all these families is between one acre and five acres. These families are mainly Dalit and poor. The sword of eviction is hanging over these families and they are being evicted gradually. These families come under the category of Traditional Forest Dwellers and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers under the Forest Rights Act. However, the eligible families can be provided protection by providing them the ‘patta’ of individual land rights.

The sources say that pastures on which open grazing was happening, as per the seasonal grazing cycle, have been declared as national parks or wildlife sanctuaries by the Forest Department by planting trees, thereby forcibly denying the rights over stopovers, water places, paths and grazing areas to animal herders. The Forest Rights Act provides rights for livelihood to the claimants in any type of forest area, national park or wildlife area.