The main opposition Congress party has raised concerns over the environment ministry's role in weakening the Forest Rights Act, 2006 quoting the ministry’s response to a recent letter addressed to Narendra Modi by over 100 civil society activists and organisations, which termed allegations of “subverting the Forest Rights Act” (FRA) as a “gross misunderstanding of facts”.

In a post on X, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the recent forest policies threaten the livelihoods of tribal communities and India's ecological security. Criticising the Modi government's record, Ramesh said that it has shown little willingness to address these important issues or engage in dialogue with affected communities.

"These issues are particularly significant for tribal and other communities living in forest areas, whose livelihoods depend on forests. Moreover, they are extremely critical for India's ecological security. Unfortunately, the track record of the Modi government so far does not inspire confidence that these important questions will be addressed, nor that there will be any dialogue with the communities directly affected by these policies," Ramesh wrote.

Rebuttal by the Ministry

On July 3, the ministry issued a rebuttal on social media, stating that Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav’s remarks regarding the possible contribution of land titles under the FRA to forest degradation had been “grossly misrepresented, distorted, represented in a piecemeal manner and [were] totally out of context”.

The ministry said it remained fully “committed to protecting forests, India’s green cover and communities dependent on them or living in the vicinity of said areas”.

It added that the letter circulated on social media accusing it of subverting the FRA “reflects a gross misunderstanding of facts”.

Civil Rights Activists’ Letter to PM

On June 28, a letter sent to the Prime Minister by a coalition of civil rights groups alleged that the ministry had attempted to undermine the FRA, a crucial law that affirms the rights of Adivasi and traditional forest dwellers to inhabit, use, and conserve forest land by providing what they called “legally untenable data on encroachment” to parliamentary bodies and the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

The activists also criticised Minister Yadav’s comment in a June 5 interview with the Hindustan Times, where he suggested that FRA land titles may have contributed to the decline of forest cover in some regions. They said this statement “had no legal basis and evidence” and was “highly irresponsible and misleading”.

Yadav singled out the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2023 published by the Forest Survey of India (FSI), a government-run body, for attributing forest loss to the FRA “without evidence”.

Minister Yadav’s Response

In the June 5 interview, Yadav commented on areas where prime forest zones had degraded, stating: “…there are areas where the dense prime forests have been affected with degradation. This may be due to encroachment, illicit felling and in [the] northeast region, due to shifting cultivation. And to a lesser degree, due to unregulated grazing, natural causes like storms and landslides, and also titles given under [the FRA].”

Activists argued that blaming the FRA for forest loss “has no legal basis and evidence” and served to deflect attention from the ministry’s own actions. “While blaming [the] FRA, the Adivasi and other forest rights holders, the minister conveniently overlooks the fact that the MoEFCC itself allowed the illegal diversion of more than 3 lakh hectares of forest since 2008 for non-forest activities denuding forests, without complying with [the] FRA,” the letter stated.

Yadav’s comments had also prompted the ministry of tribal affairs to step in. On July 2, it sent an office memorandum asking for clarification on why the ISFR 2023 had listed the FRA as one of the contributing factors to forest degradation. The report, released on December 21, 2024, is a biennial document that tracks changes in India’s forest cover.

Forest Act Aimed at Correcting Historical Injustice

The FRA, known as the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 was enacted to correct a “historical injustice” against indigenous and forest-dwelling communities, whose rights to land were not acknowledged under colonial or early post-Independence laws.

The Act gives individuals and communities the right to inhabit forest land, cultivate it, and sustainably collect minor forest produce such as wild honey or mahua flowers, while also assigning them the responsibility of protecting the forest ecosystem.

As per official records, by October 2023, about 23.43 lakh land titles covering roughly 1,80,70,577 acres had been distributed under the FRA for both individual and community claims.

Obstacles to Implementation

A 2024 study showed that even after 15 years, the Act’s enforcement was patchy in states like Maharashtra, Odisha, Karnataka, Assam, and Chhattisgarh, with delays, knowledge gaps, and administrative conflicts being persistent problems.

The disparity between the number of claims filed and those granted has widened, especially after 2014, causing frustration among many tribal communities still awaiting legal recognition of their rights.

India ranked among the worst five nations in biodiversity loss and a lack of conservation efforts, according to the 2024 Nature Conservation Index (NCI) published last year in October.

Ranking among the worst meant that India suffers from habitat loss, pollution, and wildlife and plant populations are diminishing at an unprecedented pace, according to the NCI.

(Author, a PhD from Humboldt University, Germany, is veteran journalist and political commentator. Views are personal.)