The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (2006)
Parliament enacted the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, Act No. 2 of 2007, dated 29 December 2006, to recognise, record and vest forest rights in forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers. The Act covers individual and community rights in forest land, including occupation, cultivation, minor forest produce, grazing, habitat, community forest resources and rehabilitation. The text records that Act 34 of 2019 amended its territorial extent by omitting the exclusion of the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
What the Act governs
The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 provides a framework for recognising and recording rights in forest land that were not previously recorded. Parliament enacted it as Act No. 2 of 2007, dated 29 December 2006. The Act extends to the whole of India, following the amendment recorded in the text, and comes into force on a date appointed by the Central Government through an Official Gazette notification.
The law addresses forest rights and occupation affecting forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers. Forest land includes unclassified, undemarcated, existing or deemed forests, protected and reserved forests, Sanctuaries and National Parks.
Who may be affected
The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 applies to:
- Members or communities of Scheduled Tribes who primarily reside in and depend on forests or forest land for genuine livelihood needs, including Scheduled Tribe pastoralist communities.
- Other traditional forest dwellers who, for at least three generations before 13 December 2005, primarily resided in and depended on forests or forest land for genuine livelihood needs.
- People dealing with forest land where individual occupation, community use, customary access, disputed claims, leases, grants or Pattas may be involved.
A generation is defined as twenty-five years.
Key rights covered
The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 recognises individual or community rights, or both, including:
- Living on forest land and using it for self-cultivation and livelihood.
- Community rights, including customary nistar rights.
- Ownership, collection, use and disposal of traditionally collected minor forest produce.
- Fishing, use of water body products, grazing and seasonal access for nomadic or pastoral communities.
- Habitat and habitation rights for primitive tribal groups and pre-agricultural communities.
- Rights over disputed lands and conversion of qualifying Pattas, leases or grants on forest land into titles.
- Conversion of forest villages, old habitations, unsurveyed villages and other forest settlements into revenue villages.
- Protection, regeneration, conservation or management of traditionally protected community forest resources.
- Access to biodiversity, traditional knowledge and in situ rehabilitation for certain illegal eviction or displacement before 13 December 2005.
Traditional hunting, trapping or taking body parts from wild animals is expressly excluded.
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Common questions
Does the Act recognise ownership of minor forest produce?
Yes. It recognises the right to own, access, collect, use and dispose of minor forest produce traditionally collected within or outside village boundaries.
Can a Patta or lease on forest land be converted into a title?
The Act includes rights for converting Pattas, leases or grants issued by a local authority or State Government on forest land into titles.
Who qualifies as an other traditional forest dweller?
A member or community must have primarily resided in and depended on forest or forest land for genuine livelihood needs for at least three generations before 13 December 2005. One generation means twenty-five years.
Does the Act create a traditional right to hunt wild animals?
No. Traditional hunting, trapping or extracting any part of the body of a wild animal is excluded from the recognised traditional rights.
