MINISTER OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SHRI V. KISHORE CHANDRA DEO)
(a) & (b) : Yes Madam. Section 6(7) of the Scheduled Tribe and Other Traditional Forest
Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (In short FRA) provides for constitution of
State Level Monitoring Committees by the State Governments to monitor the process of recognition
and vesting of forest rights and to submit to the nodal agency such returns and reports as may
be called for by that agency. Further Section 6(8) of the Act inter-alia provides that the State
Level Monitoring Committee shall consist of officers of the departments of Revenue, Forest and
Tribal Affairs of the State Government and three members of the Panchayati Raj Institutions at
the appropriate level, appointed by the respective Panchayati Raj Institutions, of whom two shall
be the Scheduled Tribes members and at least one shall be a woman, as may be prescribed. Further,
Rule 9 of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights)
Rules, 2008 provide that the State Government shall constitute a State Level Monitoring Committee
with the following members namely:-
(a) Chief Secretary - Chairperson;
(b) Secretary- Revenue Department - Member;
(c) Secretary Tribal or Social - Member;
Welfare Department
(d) Secretary, Forest Department - Member;
(e) Secretary, Panchayati Raj - Member;
(f) Principal Chief Conservator - Member;
of Forests
(g) three Scheduled Tribes member of the Tribes Advisory Council, to be nominated by the Chairperson
of the Tribes Advisory Council and where there is no Tribes Advisory Council, th ree Scheduled Tribes
members to be nominated by the State Government;
(h) Commissioner, Tribal Welfare or equivalent who shall be the Member Secretary.
(c) & (d): As per the information available with the Ministry, as on 31.3.2013, all the State/UT
Governments except Manipur, Nagaland and A&N Islands Administration have constituted the State Level
Monitoring Committees. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has been constantly persuading with the State
Governments/UT Administrations to implement the provisions of the Act in a time bound manner, including
constitution of State Level Monitoring Committees as required under the Act.
Further to strengthen the monitoring of the implementation of FRA, FR Rules have been amended
on 6.9.2012 to include that SLMC is mandated to meet at least once in each quarter to take stock of the
field level problems and submit Quarterly Progress Report (QPR) to the Ministry. The Ministry also
organized five Regional Workshops and a national meeting in the year 2012-13, in order to explain and
discuss the amendments in the FR Rules and the guidelines to the officials of the key State Government
Departments and further make them aware to constitute SLMC and furnish QPR on regular basis.
