New Delhi
In a show of collective dissent, more than 150 tribal rights groups and civil society organisations have written to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) demanding the immediate withdrawal of recent guidelines and advisories that, they allege, erode the powers of gram sabhas under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006.
In their joint representation, dated August 21, the signatories accused the Ministry of subverting the democratic framework of governance, management and conservation of community forest resources, as guaranteed under the FRA, according to news agency PTI.
The organisations said the Ministry’s interventions were creating a parallel institutional structure that sidelined gram sabha-led governance in favour of a techno-bureaucratisation scheme consolidating powers in the hands of the forest department and Environment Ministry.
At the heart of the controversy lies the “Guidelines for Conservation, Management and Sustainable Use of Community Forest Resources” issued on September 12, 2023. Activists argue that these replaced the 2015 guidelines, which had explicitly recognised gram sabhas’ authority and empowered them to “freely and autonomously develop, decide and implement the plan” for community forest resources.
In contrast, they said, the 2023 guidelines contravene this core idea by undermining the institutional authority of gram sabha and its democratic governance framework.
Key Objections to the 2023 Guidelines
- Gram sabha meetings convened by panchayat secretaries.
- Mandatory coordination of CFR management committees with the Forest Department.
- Creation of a district-level CFR monitoring committee outside the FRA framework.
- Officials authorised to issue letters for opening bank accounts of gram sabhas.
“The CFR management is reduced to a scheme under the oversight of the bureaucracy rather than the bureaucracy functioning under the oversight of the institution of democracy — in this case, the gram sabha,” the submission stressed.
Opposition to 2024 Joint Advisory
The groups also opposed the joint advisory issued on March 14, 2024, by the Tribal Affairs Ministry and the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). They argued it essentially replicated the 2023 guidelines and proposed model scientific CFR management plans in consonance with the Working Plan Code 2023 to be developed with forest department support.
According to the representation, this approach “vests overarching powers in the forest department”, even suggesting that forest officers be part of CFR management committees, which under the FRA are meant to be formed exclusively by gram sabhas.
Clash Over Statutory Mandates
The groups reminded MoTA that after the 2006 amendment to the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961, it was designated as the nodal ministry for FRA implementation. Hence, only MoTA is legally empowered to issue clarifications and directions under the law.
“By declaring and adopting the principle of joint responsibility on matters of FRA, MoTA, in effect, abdicated its responsibility in violation of the law,” the groups charged.
They also accused the Environment Ministry and state forest departments of routinely violating forest rights by notifying forests and protected areas and diverting land for non-forest purposes—issues that originally necessitated the FRA.
Chhattisgarh Case Sparks Outcry
As evidence, the groups cited a May 15 letter from the Chhattisgarh Forest Department claiming itself to be the nodal agency for community forest resource rights, based on the 2024 joint advisory. The order—which declared that no plan other than the environment ministry-approved working plan could be implemented in forest areas—was later stayed after protests.
“This episode shows how these CFR guidelines and joint advisories have further generated conflicts on the ground and emboldened the forest department to obstruct FRA implementation and impinge upon gram sabha authority,” the groups said.
The organisations also objected to FRA-related activities being included under the PM-JU GUA mission launched in September 2024, arguing that this move reduces FRA to “a beneficiary scheme.”
They stated: “The entire mission has transformed the Forest Rights Act into a techno-managerial and bureaucratic exercise where the powers of gram sabhas have been circumvented by creation of parallel institutional structures.”
The Demands
Calling MoTA’s actions “irresponsible, injudicious and disappointing”, the groups demanded:
- Immediate withdrawal of the September 2023 guidelines and March 2024 joint advisory.
- Reinstatement of the 2015 guidelines that upheld gram sabha powers.
- Reaffirmation of MoTA’s nodal authority under the FRA.
- Directions to states that only MoTA may issue clarifications on forest rights.
- Accountability of the environment ministry and forest departments for statutory violations.
- Recognition of gram sabhas as the statutory authority under the FRA for governance, management and conservation of community forest resources.
The submission has been endorsed by 151 organisations and individuals, including Campaign for Survival and Dignity, Adivasi Adhikar Rashtriya Manch, All India Forum of Forest Movements, Gondwana Ganatantra Party, Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, Himdhara Collective and actor and documentary filmmaker Suhasini Mulay.
