RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh forest department on Thursday withdrew its advisory circular issued to its field officers for implementation of Community Forest Resource (CFR) rights following the massive protest in several districts by people, mostly tribals, who alleged the move as state’s attempt to weaken the Forest Rights Act and undermine the constitutional power of Gram Sabhas.Activists working on forest and tribal rights highlighted that a letter issued by the Chhattisgarh Forest Department on May 15 seeking to designate the department as the nodal agency for implementing the FRA—an act that is not only legally untenable but also a direct encroachment on the jurisdiction of the Tribal Development Department.“The forest department has invoked the National Working Plan Code 2023 under the guise of “scientific forest management” to threaten the implementation of Community Forest Resource (CFR) rights, supported by Gram Sabhas and other state institutions. This move jeopardises community control and management over nearly 20,000 sq km of forests in the state”, they claimed.The forest department affirmed that its directive was advisory in nature as the field implementation of CFR rights was becoming inconsistent due to the lack of clarity on how to develop and integrate CFR management plans with the National Working Plan Code 2023.Spontaneous and big rallies were taken place as the collective voice across tribal regions during the last couple of days, with memorandums addressed to chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai were submitted, seeking his intervention to refrain the forest department from obstructing the rights of forest-dependent communities and instead support the remaining 8,000 forest-reliant villages in securing their rightful CFR claims.
Source link
