AP CS reviews implementation of Forest Land Act

Hyderabad, Aug 3 (INN): A State Level Monitoring Committee meeting on implementation of Recognition of Forest Rights (RoFR) Act was held in the chambers of Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary IYR Krishna Rao at A.P. Secretariat here on Monday.

The Chief Secretary discussed on the achievement and implementation of the Act and issued pointed-out by Government of India and issues raised by the District Administrations and Developmental activities taken up in RoFR lands.

Aims of the Act is recognizing and vest the rights of forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional Forest Dwellers who have been residing in and depending on the forest for their bonafide livelihood and it needs for generations without any recorded rights. The Act will apply on the Scheduled Tribes those who had occupied forest land before 13th December 2005. If other traditional Forest Dwellers, who have for at least three generation prior to the 13th December 2005 primarily resided in and who depend on forest or forest lands for bonafide livelihood needs. Maximum extent per family is 4 hectares or less. The forest land to be diverted for the community purposes is less than one hectare in each case, but should not exceed felling of 75 tress per hectare is claim for a community. Tribal Welfare Department is the Nodal Agency to implement the Act.

The Chief Secretary informed that only land development works are being taken up under MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) and desired that a massive action plan should be prepared for plantation of coffee, rubber, horticulture and regenerating plants in RoFR lands by providing facilities viz., drip irrigation, bore wells, coffee, silver oak (shade) plantations and horticulture developmental projects by NREGS.

As many as 96,328 Acres of RoFR land was developed under MGNREGS. A total of 50414 works taken up and completed and 25275 works are in progress. 18233 Acres of RoFR land benefitting 9618 Scheduled Tribes Farmers were covered under coffee plantation, 11649 Acres of RoFR land taken up with Silver Oak (Shade) plantations, where subsequently coffee plantation taken up. Mango plantation in 288.37 Acres and Cashew plantation in 4883.78 Acres were taken up in RoFR lands, Chief Secretary informed.

The Chief Secretary instructed that all the individual rights so far distributed should be entered in the Adangal / Pahani immediately and data base should be maintained for all RoFR Lands, community claims and horticulture programmes taken up.

Krishna Rao has directed the Committee Members to sort out the issues raised by the District Administration at the earliest. Officials from Tribal Welfare, Forest and Panchayat Raj Departments attended the meeting.