“The Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006 is a tool for undoing historical injustice but its implementation reflects administrative inertia.” Examine.

Answer: Model Answer approach

Introduction: To begin, let’s write a brief overview of the Forest Rights Act of 2006 and how it works to safeguard the rights of forest inhabitants.

• Forest Dwelling Scheduled Tribes (FDST) and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFD) who have been living in forests for at least three generations (75 years) before December 2005 are recognized and granted the right to occupy the forest under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006.

Body: Benefits of the Forest Rights Act and Issues Related to the Act

The best course of action is to strengthen and implement the Act in accordance with its letter: 

• Promoting forest conservation among the local user base: For instance, Nepal used this technique to raise its forest cover to 45% between 1990 and 2020.
• The Gram Sabha’s involvement in efficient decision-making and project vetting is essential. For instance, these awareness campaigns may be carried out under the PM’s Adi Adarsh Gram Yojana. 
• There must be integrated strategies for forest development and conservation, as well as methods to penalize infractions and non-compliance.

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Summarize the Forest Rights Act’s dual nature in your conclusion, highlighting both its accomplishments and the necessity of resolving related issues. You can also write the path ahead.

• Therefore, in order to protect Tribal rights and guarantee the achievement of the goals of the Forest Rights Act 2006, the objectives of “Antyodaya” will be combined with those of the National Forest Policy 1988.

Practice Question

Question: Discuss the significance of Community Forest Rights (CFR) under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 in promoting sustainable forest governance and empowering tribal communities. Also evaluate the challenges in realizing its full potential.

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