🔆 Forest Rights Act & Gram Sabha Consent
📍 Why in News?
🟢 The Ministry of Tribal Affairs clarified that the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006 does not explicitly provide for obtaining Gram Sabha consent for forest clearance of projects.
📍 Forest Rights Act, 2006
🟢 The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is the nodal ministry responsible for implementation of the FRA.
🟢 The Act recognises the forest rights of Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers.
🟢 Under the FRA, recognition and vesting of forest rights is carried out through the prescribed process involving the Gram Sabha.
📍 Forest Diversion Process
🟢 The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and Centre’s rules require completion of relevant FRA processes before formal diversion of forest land.
🟢 Identification of potential FRA claimants, recognition and vesting of rights, followed by obtaining required NOC/clearances from Gram Sabhas, have been treated as part of the process in practice.
📍 Key Issue
🟢 A parliamentary panel observed that the requirement of 100% Gram Sabha consent has become a major bottleneck for infrastructure projects.
🟢 For large hydropower projects of national importance, it recommended examining a “qualified super-majority consent” of 70–75% instead of unanimous consent.
🟢 The Power Ministry was asked to discuss the feasibility of the proposal with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
📍 Challenges
🟢 Forest clearances for some infrastructure projects have reportedly faced substantial delays.
🟢 The debate highlights the need to balance tribal/forest-dweller rights, environmental protection and developmental requirements.
#Environment
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