(a) the details of forest land under the occupation of adiwasis in Maharashtra State;
(b) whether the Government proposes to regularise the said area of land; and
(c) if so, the time by which it is likely to be regularised?
(a) the details of forest land under the occupation of adiwasis in Maharashtra State;
(b) whether the Government proposes to regularise the said area of land; and
(c) if so, the time by which it is likely to be regularised?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS
(SHRI MANSUKHBHAI DHANJIBHAI VASAVA)
(a): Ministry of Tribal Affairs administers The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (in short Forest Rights Act) under which rights and occupation in forest land of forest dwelling scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers are recognized and vested and forest rights so vested are also recorded. In Maharashtra, as of May, 2015, 2,36,529 Scheduled Tribes people have filed claims for recognition of their individual rights under this Act in respect of forest land under their occupation. Asmany as 1,21,328 individual titles have been distributed to Scheduled Tribes covering 269926.97 acres of forest land under this Act.
(b): The Forest Rights Act seeks to recognize and vest the pre-existing forest rights and occupation in forest land in forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers who have been residing in such forests for generations but whose rights could not be recorded following a due process. The Act does not provide for regularizing any area of land.
(c): Does not arise in view of reply given to Part (b) above.
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