Jairam Ramesh slams C’garh HC verdict scrapping Hasdeo forest rights

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Saturday criticised the Chhattisgarh HC’s decision to set aside forest rights granted to a village community in the Hasdeo Aranya region, saying the ruling “undermines the entire foundation” of the Forest Rights Act, 2006.

Ramesh said the single-judge Bench had struck down community forest rights on questionable grounds, arguing that since the land had previously been diverted for mining and no challenge was made at that time, the villagers’ claim to forest rights could not survive. “There is no mystery about who the beneficiary is. Modani hai to mumkin hai,” he remarked, taking a swipe at the BJP-led government and industrial interests allegedly linked to it.

He further noted that the court’s observation, that the Forest Rights Act does not interfere with State control over mines or minerals beneath forest land, reflected a “strange perversion of logic and justice”.

According to Ramesh, the Act guarantees communities access to forest produce, a right that cannot be sustained if the underlying land rights are removed. “The Court has now made this right conditional on government policy,” he added.

Calling the ruling yet another “unacceptable and unprecedented” development under the “Modani Government” in Chhattisgarh, Ramesh said the verdict marked a serious setback for tribal and forest-dwelling communities who have long depended on Hasdeo Aranya for their livelihood and ecological security.