Rights teams object to Himachal forest official’s letter on FRA

“This isn’t the primary time that the forest division’s intervention has derailed the implementation of FRA within the state,” they wrote, referring to the 2014 directive that led to ‘nil declare’ certificates.

C.R. Bijoy, an professional on forest governance, stated the forest division is already a statutory a part of FRA implementation at each degree and there was no want for such letter.

“The forest division is concerned in any respect ranges of forest proper recognition underneath FRA — on the village degree verification by the Forest Rights Committee, the Sub-Divisional Stage Committee and the District-Stage Committee. The state forest secretary and the PCCF himself are a part of the state apex physique, the State Stage Monitoring Committee,” he stated.

“When that is so, issuing such a letter grossly misrepresenting the regulation and Supreme Court docket orders indicting all these statutory our bodies underneath FRA together with the forest forms is superb,” Bijoy alleged.

He stated the timing of the letter was questionable, with the pending Supreme Court docket case on FRA.

“Coming at a time when the anti-FRA case WP(c) 109 of 2008 is anticipated to return up within the Supreme Court docket any time now, the Himachal PCCF’s letter appears to be a part of a marketing campaign by a bit of the disgruntled forest forms to intentionally malign FRA, a flagship regulation of the nation,” the professional stated.

He additionally criticised the division’s use of outdated encroachment knowledge.

“The PCCF’s reference to encroachment when what constitutes encroachment itself has undergone sea change with FRA… It’s altogether one other absurdity that the setting ministry and state governments proceed to provide legally and factually untenable figures on ‘encroachment’ to mislead the judiciary, the current being the Nationwide Inexperienced Tribunal,” he stated.