Forest Rights Act: Goa gets a zero
HERALD CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, SEPT 5
Implementation of the ‘Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act’ is ‘Zero’ in Goa, according to Minister of Tribal Affairs Kanti Lal Bhuria.
The Minister said he has written to the Chief Ministers of the States which have not performed well regarding the Act. These include Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and Maharashtra, apart from Goa, which has the lowest rate of implementation.
As per the information received in the Ministry, the progress of implementation of the Act in these states as on 31 July 2010 is: Kerala – 30.92 per cent, Jharkhand – 30.84 per cent, Maharashtra – 24.94 per cent, Assam – 26.01 per cent, Gujarat – 18.10 per cent, Karnataka – 4.20 per cent and Goa – nil.
Bhuria has asked the States to launch a special campaign to generate widespread awareness about the provisions of the Act among forest dwellers and to impart training to field level functionaries for this purpose. Gram Sabhas in the state could be given instructions to make special efforts to invite claims, he said.
In view of the priority being accorded to the implementation of the Act at the highest level, he has requested the Chief Ministers to direct the concerned officers to make vigorous efforts to invite claims and process them speedily for issue of title deeds to all eligible claimants on priority basis. He has also asked Chief Ministers to take action for dovetailing development and welfare programmes for the uplift of potential title holders.
