Ranchi: A state-level workshop was organized in the auditorium of Project Bhawan, Ranchi with the objective of speeding up the compliance of the Forest Rights Act 2006 in the state of Jharkhand.
While addressing this workshop organized by the Welfare Department, the Additional Chief Secretary, Forest and Revenue Department L Khiyangate said that forest-dependent communities have a coexistence relationship with
forests. Forest-dependent communities have been playing their role for centuries in conservation, promotion and maintaining biodiversity.
He said that in Jharkhand the process of giving rights to forest-dependent communities under this law is going on. In terms of statistics, individual and community forest lease in Jharkhand is less than the neighbouring states of Chhattisgarh and Orissa, but the government is working in this direction.
Adding further he said that in compliance with this law there is a collective responsibility of many departments and civil society including Forest, Revenue, Welfare, Panchayati Raj and the workshop is an initiative towards motivating everyone.
In the beginning of the programme Secretary, Welfare Department KK Soan said that this law has been implemented for 15 years and it is necessary for the all-round development of tribal and other forest-dependent communities of Jharkhand but after getting individual and collective rights, many programs of agriculture and livelihood like PM Kisan, PM Awas, Beneficiaries of FRA can get the benefits of dozens of schemes.
He said that an initiative has been taken to reach out to all parties involved in this Act to address the issues and challenges associated with the claim creation process. He said that in the workshop, the draft Standard Operational Procedures (SOP) was thoroughly discussed with the Revenue, Forest, Civil Societies. Soon the SOP will be finalized after completing the necessary action so that the compliance of FRA law in the state will be accelerated. He also mentioned the need to record the names of the beneficiaries of FRA in the state in the Record of Rights. On this occasion, a presentation of the team of Welfare Department to Chhattisgarh and Orissa was made.
Ajay Nath Jha, Additional Secretary, Welfare Department said that Chhattisgarh is less in comparison to the population but more than 8 lakh individual pattas have been given there. Collective initiatives from Rural Development, MNREGA, Agriculture and Forest Department along with conservation and promotion of forests. Dozens of works are going on for the livelihood enhancement of tribals and other forest-dependent communities, this has brought a positive change in the statistics of social and economic development of the people.