New Delhi, 08 September (H.S.): The Congress has questioned the recent position taken by the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs regarding the role of the Gram Sabha prior to the diversion of forest land under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA). Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh alleged that the ministry was attempting to evade its statutory responsibility by misinterpreting the law. He also questioned whether the ministry was under pressure from the ‘Modani’ group and other mining companies.

In an official statement issued on Tuesday, Ramesh said that on August 31, the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs informed the Ministry of Power that the Forest Rights Act and the rules framed under it do not contain any provision requiring the consent of the Gram Sabha before forest land is diverted for non-forest purposes. He said this position was contrary to the ministry’s own earlier guidelines and the legal position it had adopted in the past.

He said that on July 12, 2012, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs had written to the states, making it clear that compliance with Section 4 of the FRA was mandatory in matters concerning the diversion of forest land and forest-dwelling communities. In January 2018 as well, the ministry had objected to a proposal from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change that sought to move the requirement of FRA compliance to a later stage in the forest-clearance process.

Ramesh said the Ministry of Tribal Affairs is the nodal ministry for the implementation of the FRA and, therefore, cannot distance itself from the scope and obligations of the law. He said the current position undermines both the law and the communities whose rights the legislation was enacted to protect.

It may be recalled that in an office memorandum sent by the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs to the NHPC Desk of the Ministry of Power on August 31, the ministry clarified that the Forest Rights Act, 2006 and the rules framed under it contain no provision requiring the consent of the Gram Sabha for Stage-II forest clearance. It stated that such matters do not fall within its jurisdiction. The ministry only approves the Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) plans of hydropower and irrigation projects that involve Scheduled Tribe (ST) families affected by the project.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar