Community Forest Rights in Banjar, Himachal Pradesh: What Comes After Recognition
Community Forest Resource (CFR) rights have been recognised for villages in the Banjar sub-division of Kullu district, Himachal Pradesh, under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006. CFR rights let a village's gram sabha (assembly of all adult voters) protect and manage its own traditional forest.
Local reports say the community forest rights claims of 172 of the 238 Forest Rights Committees in the Banjar sub-division have been approved.
A recent analysis argues that recognition is only the first step. The real test is how well the gram sabhas now manage these forests through CFR management plans.
The suggested next steps include mapping forests, grazing land, water sources and non-timber forest produce (NTFP); giving women and youth real decision-making roles; and planning for forest fires, landslides and extreme rain.
It also suggests that the Forest Department act as a technical partner, and that CFR and Joint Forest Management (JFM) be made to work together rather than compete.
Success, it says, should be measured by outcomes such as forest regrowth, spring and water security, fewer fires, better pastures and higher incomes, with plans and spending made public through social audits.
Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006
The Forest Rights Act, 2006 is a law that gives legal ownership and use rights over forest land and forest resources to Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers who have lived in and depended on forests for generations. Its full name is the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. It aims to correct the "historical injustice" done when forests were taken over by the state without recording people's rights. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is the nodal ministry.
Banjar's villages now hold CFR rights under Section 3(1)(i). The debate in the news is about using Section 5 and Rule 4(1)(e) well: making gram sabha management plans that actually restore forests and improve livelihoods.
Joint Forest Management (JFM)
Joint Forest Management, or JFM, is a system in which the State Forest Department and the people of a nearby village protect and manage a forest together, and share what the forest produces. The villagers form a JFM Committee (JFMC). In return for protecting the forest from fire, illegal cutting and over-grazing, they get free access to items like fuelwood, fodder and minor forest produce, and a share of the money from timber. It is a partnership: the forest stays government land, but the people living next to it become its guardians.
Banjar's villages now hold statutory CFR rights, but many of them also have JFM committees and forests managed under Forest Department working plans. The suggestion to make CFR and JFM work together means using the Forest Department's skills and the JFM experience, while keeping the gram sabha in charge as the FRA requires.
Gram Sabha
The Gram Sabha is the assembly of all adult voters of a village. Every person whose name is on the electoral roll of the village panchayat area is automatically a member. It is the foundation of local democracy, because it lets villagers directly discuss and approve plans, rather than only electing representatives.
With CFR rights, Banjar's gram sabhas become the legal managers of their forests. How well they meet, plan and include women and youth will decide whether the recognition turns into real change on the ground.
- Place: Banjar sub-division, Kullu district, Himachal Pradesh
- Reported: CFR claims of 172 of 238 Forest Rights Committees in Banjar approved
- Legal basis: Forest Rights Act, 2006: CFR defined in Section 2(a); right to protect and manage in Section 3(1)(i); powers of right holders in Section 5; management committee under Rule 4(1)(e), plans under the 2012 amended Rules
- FRA in force from 31 December 2007; nodal ministry: Ministry of Tribal Affairs
- JFM began with the central circular of 1 June 1990, based on the National Forest Policy, 1988; first model at Arabari, West Bengal (1972)
- Gram Sabha: Articles 243(b) and 243A, 73rd Amendment, 1992