Forest Rights Act Review in Kolkata: Pending Claims, Community Forest Rights and Gram Sabhas
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) held the Second Regional Review Conference on the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006 in Kolkata, West Bengal, starting on 9 October 2026. The aim was to check how well states are giving forest rights to tribal and forest-dwelling families.
Eight states took part: West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Officials from tribal welfare, revenue and forest departments, Tribal Research Institutes, and District Collectors from districts with many pending claims attended.
National figures shared (as of 31 August 2026): over 54 lakh claims received, about 25 lakh titles (legal ownership papers) given, about 11 lakh claims pending and over 18 lakh claims rejected. Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Assam have a large share of the pending claims.
States were asked to clear pending claims on time, review rejected claims, digitise records, and recognise Community Forest Resource (CFR) rights and habitat rights of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). Strengthening Gram Sabhas was also on the agenda.
States were urged to put into practice a joint advisory of MoTA and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on linking community forest management plans with forest department working plans. Andhra Pradesh shared its practices on digitising FRA titles and livelihood support for titleholders.
This followed the First Regional Review Conference, held in Bengaluru on 10 September 2026 for the southern states.
Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006
The Forest Rights Act, 2006 is the law that gives forest-dwelling tribal people and other traditional forest dwellers legal rights over the forest land they live on and the forest resources they depend on. Its full name is the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. It "recognises" rights, meaning it accepts that these people already had these rights by custom and gives them a legal paper for it. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is the nodal ministry for this law.
The Kolkata conference was held to review how this Act is being carried out in eastern and central states. With about 11 lakh claims still pending and over 18 lakh rejected, the Ministry asked states to finish pending claims on time, recheck rejections and give more community and habitat rights, which have lagged behind individual land titles.
Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)
Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups are the most disadvantaged communities among India's Scheduled Tribes. They usually live in remote forests and hills, use very old farming or hunting-gathering methods, have very low literacy, and have small or falling populations. The Government of India lists 75 PVTGs across 18 states and one Union Territory (Andaman and Nicobar Islands). Because their whole way of life depends on a wider forest landscape, the Forest Rights Act gives them a special type of right called habitat rights.
At the Kolkata conference, states such as Odisha, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, which are home to many PVTGs, were asked to present plans for recognising habitat rights on time. This is a weak area of FRA implementation, because only a handful of the 75 PVTGs hold such rights today.
Gram Sabha
The Gram Sabha is the assembly of all adult voters of a village. Every person whose name is on the village's voter list is a member. It is the only body in India's government system where citizens take part directly, without electing a representative. Under the Forest Rights Act, the Gram Sabha has a central role: it is the body that starts and checks forest rights claims.
Strengthening Gram Sabhas was one of the main agenda items in Kolkata, because slow or weak Gram Sabha processes are a key reason for pending and rejected claims. The joint MoTA and MoEFCC advisory on linking community forest management plans with forest department working plans also touches the Gram Sabha's role. Some experts have worried that such linking could reduce the Gram Sabha's control over its own forest.
- Second Regional Review Conference on FRA: Kolkata, West Bengal, from 9 October 2026; organised by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs
- First Regional Review Conference: Bengaluru, 10 September 2026 (southern states)
- 8 states in Kolkata: West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh
- National FRA status (31 August 2026): 54 lakh+ claims received; about 25 lakh titles given; about 11 lakh pending; 18 lakh+ rejected
- High pendency: Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Assam
- FRA cut-off date: 13 December 2005; OTFDs need 3 generations (75 years) of residence
- Individual land right ceiling: 4 hectares per family
- CFR rights: Section 3(1)(i); habitat rights for PVTGs: Section 3(1)(e); claim process led by Gram Sabha: Section 6
- FRA Gram Sabha quorum: one-half of members, one-third of those present women (2012 amendment to the Rules)
- India has 75 PVTGs in 18 states and 1 UT