Forest Rights Act (FRA)

Forest Rights Act (FRA)

  • Context:

  • On April 20, the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court struck down a decision by a District Level Committee (DLC) in Lakhimpur, Uttar Pradesh.

  • The DLC had rejected the forest rights claims of the Tharus, a tribal community, based on a 2000 Supreme Court interim order that barred the "de-reservation" of forests and sanctuaries.

  • Legal Principles Highlighted:

  • Supremacy of Later Laws:

  • The High Court reaffirmed a core legal principle that provisions in a later law (in this case, the Forest Rights Act, 2006) override any inconsistent earlier court orders or previous laws.

  • Statutory Backing of FRA:

  • The FRA explicitly mandates that forest rights are vested in forest dwellers "notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force".

  • The DLC's violation of this provision constitutes a punishable offence.

  • FRA Provisions on Eviction and Governance:

  • Protection from Eviction:

  • The FRA strictly disallows the eviction or removal of forest dwellers from their occupied forest land until the entire recognition and verification procedure is complete.

  • While the Uttarakhand High Court recently barred coercive evictions until claims were adjudicated, earlier rulings by the Madras High Court repeatedly dismissed FRA claims using the outdated Tamil Nadu Forest Act (TNFA) 1882, disregarding the FRA's overriding status.

  • Role of the Gram Sabha:

  • The Gram Sabha acts as a statutory authority under the FRA.

  • To sanction offenders who violate the law, it must issue a 60-day notice to the State-Level Monitoring Committee.

  • However, the Allahabad High Court bypassed this specific penalty mechanism, instead ordering the DLC to simply reconsider its own decision.

  • DLC Composition:

  • The DLC is headed by the District Collector and includes the Divisional Forest Officer, District Tribal Welfare Officer, and three district panchayat members.

  • Grazing Rights and State Law Conflicts:

  • Universal Grazing Rights:

  • The FRA explicitly recognises grazing rights across all forests, which includes those overlapping with tiger reserves, national parks, and wildlife sanctuaries.

  • Central Law Supremacy:

  • Because the FRA is a central law, it overrules State legislation regarding grazing prohibitions.

  • The Madras High Court had previously restricted grazing under the Tamil Nadu Forest Act without referencing the superseding grazing rights guaranteed by the FRA.