{"id":50224,"date":"2025-06-14T10:44:56","date_gmt":"2025-06-14T05:14:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=50224"},"modified":"2025-06-14T12:33:38","modified_gmt":"2025-06-14T07:03:38","slug":"centres-fra-cell-initiative-boosting-implementation-of-forest-rights-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/centres-fra-cell-initiative-boosting-implementation-of-forest-rights-act\/","title":{"rendered":"Centre\u2019s FRA Cell Initiative: Boosting Implementation of Forest Rights Act"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>FRA Cell Initiative Latest News<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Union government has started funding structural mechanisms to \u201cfacilitate\u201d the implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Introduction<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For the first time since the enactment of the <\/span><b>Forest Rights Act (FRA)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in 2006, the Union government has initiated direct structural support to streamline its implementation.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Under the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/dharti-aaba-janjatiya-gram-utkarsh-abhiyan\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyaan<\/b><\/a><b> (DAJGUA)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has approved the establishment of over <\/span><b>300 district and State-level FRA cells<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> across India.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This strategic push is aimed at assisting Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers in exercising their legal rights over forest land and resources.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>The Forest Rights Act and its Decentralised Framework<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was enacted to correct historical injustices faced by tribal communities and forest dwellers.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It decentralised the recognition of rights to the <\/span><b>Gram Sabha<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which in turn sets up <\/span><b>Forest Rights Committees (FRCs)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These committees work with <\/span><b>Sub-Divisional Level Committees (SDLCs)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>District Level Committees (DLCs)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to process claims.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Until now, the onus of implementing FRA was entirely on <\/span><b>State governments and Union Territories<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with the Centre offering only advisory support.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, limited coordination, delayed committee meetings, and lack of field-level assistance have led to <\/span><b>14.45% of total claims still pending<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, as of March 2025.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Role and Structure of FRA Cells<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The new FRA cells, sanctioned under the <\/span><b>DAJGUA scheme launched in October 2024<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, aim to provide <\/span><b>technical and administrative support<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> without intervening in statutory decision-making. These cells are tasked with:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Assisting claimants and Gram Sabhas in preparing claim documents.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aiding in collection of necessary evidence and resolutions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Helping in <\/span><b>digitisation of land records<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and tracking claim status.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Facilitating <\/span><b>conversion of forest habitations into revenue villages<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To date, <\/span><b>324 district-level FRA cells<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> have been approved across 18 States and Union Territories, along with <\/span><b>State-level FRA cells<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in 17 regions. The Centre funds these cells through the <\/span><b>Grants-in-Aid General<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> route, while operational control lies with State Tribal Welfare departments.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each district-level cell receives a budget of Rs. 8.67 lakh, while State-level cells are allocated Rs. 25.85 lakh. States like <\/span><b>Madhya Pradesh (55 cells)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><b>Chhattisgarh (30)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><b>Telangana (29)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> lead the count in terms of sanctioned FRA cells.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Divergence from FRA\u2019s Statutory Process<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite the declared facilitative nature, forest rights activists have raised concerns about these cells creating a <\/span><b>parallel implementation mechanism<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that exists outside the statutory framework of the FRA.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The original law clearly delineates roles for Gram Sabhas and statutory committees, which cannot be superseded by an administrative scheme.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Critics argue that many responsibilities assigned to the FRA cells, like assisting with documentation and verifying evidence, already fall under the remit of statutory bodies.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The risk, they note, is the creation of <\/span><b>confusion at the grassroots level<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over who is responsible for which task.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moreover, structural gaps such as <\/span><b>infrequent DLC\/SDLC meetings<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>inaction by Forest Departments<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on approved claims continue to hinder progress, issues that mere creation of new units may not solve.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>DAJGUA\u2019s Broader Vision<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The DAJGUA scheme integrates <\/span><b>25 tribal welfare interventions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> across 17 ministries to uplift over <\/span><b>68,000 tribal-majority villages<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. FRA implementation is just one pillar of this initiative. The overarching goal is to expedite delivery of rights, improve governance, and ensure development reaches the most marginalised.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The operational guidelines state that FRA cells must function under the directives of State governments, aligning with existing legal and administrative frameworks. Their scope is <\/span><b>supportive, not supervisory<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, ensuring that statutory powers remain unaffected.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Balancing Institutional Innovation with Legal Integrity<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the Centre\u2019s direct involvement marks a major policy shift in supporting FRA implementation, success will depend on the clarity of roles and cooperation between central and State authorities.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If implemented carefully, these FRA cells can bridge capacity gaps, reduce pendency, and empower Gram Sabhas.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, the approach must be <\/span><b>inclusive and transparent<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, ensuring that the legal sanctity of the Forest Rights Act is preserved. Any deviation from the statutory process could dilute the law\u2019s purpose and undermine the trust of forest-dwelling communities.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source :<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/in-forest-rights-push-centre-sanctions-over-300-fra-cells-to-facilitate-implementation\/article69682679.ece#:~:text=Under%20the%20Dharti%20Aba%20Janjatiya,implementing%20the%20forest%20rights%20law.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TH<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Centre has sanctioned over 300 FRA cells under the DAJGUA scheme to accelerate implementation of the Forest Rights Act across States and UTs. The move aims to support forest-dwelling communities in filing claims efficiently.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":50201,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[831,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-50224","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-fra-cell-initiative","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50224\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}