Records show that of the 3,59,745 claims for Individual Forest Rights (IFR) submitted under the law that came into force in 2006, 2,24,874 claims, or 62.5 per cent, were rejected in a three-tier process involving local bodies.
Mumbai: More than 62 per cent of claims filed by tribals for individual land titles in Maharashtra under the Forest Rights Act have been rejected, according to data compiled till March 31, 2018, by the state’s Tribal Development department and accessed by The Indian Express.
Records show that of the 3,59,745 claims for Individual Forest Rights (IFR) submitted under the law that came into force in 2006, 2,24,874 claims, or 62.5 per cent, were rejected in a three-tier process involving local bodies.
These include 51,348 claims rejected by Gram Sabhas, 1,70,126 by Sub-Divisional Level Committees (SDLCs) and 3,390 by District Level Committees (DLCs). Of the appeals filed by IFR claimants, only 41.37 per cent were accepted by DLCs, including claimants rejected previously and those who sought amendments in acreage granted.
Records show the government processed 3,35,660, or 93 per cent, of the IFR claims it received. Of the 1,10,786 claims accepted, land titles have been distributed to 1,10,589 claimants covering 2,60,271.52 acres.
Implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act was the central demand of the nearly 40,000 adivasi protestors who undertook a “long march” of 180 km from Nashik to Mumbai in March. Their agitation ended with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assuring that his government would resolve their grievances regarding pending claims and appeals within six months.
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