The Forest Rights Act, 2006 was extended to the UT of Jammu and Kashmir on 31st October 2019. The act was passed by the Parliament of India on 18th December 2006 and received the assent of the president on 29th December 2006. The act recognizes the Forest Dwelling Scheduled Tribes (FDST) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFD) as an important and integral part for the conservation of forests and thereby the goal of forest conservation is best served by letting them stay on their lands and not by evicting them. Under this act, the members of the Scheduled Tribes dwelling forests along with other traditional residents will have the right over forest land. Soon after the implementation of this act in J&K, several reports surfaced in Jammu and Kashmir which clearly showed that the Forest dewellers are not getting their rights properly. The Gujjar and Bakarwal families alleged that they being forcefully evicted from their traditional forest areas and a lot of videos and photos emerged on the social media platforms from the various parts of the UT, which invited the attention of rights activists and intense media scrutiny. Forest Rights act should be properly implemented in Jammu and Kashmir. This act will help in ensuring a dignified life to the tribal population. It is duty of government and Forest department to take all the necessary steps by virtue of which people can enjoy the benefits of this act.
Forest Rights Act, J&K, Implementation, Forest Dwellers
