Paper No: 13 Environmental Law and Policies 
                  Module:06 Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition Of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 
                   
                                                                                                           
                 
                                                          Development Team 
                              Principal Investigator                 Prof. R.K. Kohli 
                                        &                            Prof. V.K. Garg  & Prof. Ashok Dhawan 
                            Co- Principal Investigator               Central University of Punjab, Bathinda 
                                          
                                                                     Prof. Dr. P.S. Jaswal, (Vice-Chancellor)  
                                Paper Coordinator                    Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab,  
                                                                     Dr. Shruti Goyal 
                                  Content Writer                     Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab,  
                                Content Reviewer                     Prof. Dr. P.S. Jaswal 
                                                                     Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab, 
                                 Anchor Institute                             Central University of Punjab                1 
                                                                                                                            
                  
                                      Environmental Law and Policies 
            Environmental             Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition Of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 
                Sciences               
                 
                 
                                                            
                                                                                                     
              
             Description of Module 
             Subject Name       Environmental Sciences 
             Paper Name         Environmental Law and Policies 
             Module             Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition Of Forest 
             Name/Title         Rights) Act, 2006 
                                 
             Module Id          EVS/ELP-XIII/06 
             Pre-requisites      
                                To  understand  the  Scheduled  Tribes  and  Other  Traditional  Forest  Dwellers 
             Objectives         (Recognition Of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. 
                                 
             Keywords           Scheduled Tribes, Traditional Forest Dwellers, Forest Rights 
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                               Environmental Law and Policies 
          Environmental        Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition Of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 
             Sciences           
              
              
                                                                              
                                                                                                                                  
                  
                 Scheduled  Tribes  and  Other  Traditional  Forest  Dwellers  (Recognition  Of  Forest  Rights) 
                 Act, 2006 
                  
                 Learning Outcomes 
                  
                 After studying this module, you will be able to know about- 
                        The objective of the Act 
                        Forest rights 
                        Persons who can claim forest rights 
                        Mechanism developed under the Act to vest these rights. 
                  
                 Historical Background  
                  
                 Many tribal people and other forest communities have depended on forest for generations. Forests are 
                 the source of their livelihood, identity, custom and traditions. However, the issue of community access 
                 and rights over natural resources has always been contentious. Before independence, forests were 
                 viewed as crown lands and extensive tracts of forests were declared as reserved forests. This process 
                 led to extinguishment of the traditional rights of the forest dwelling communities (tribal and non-
                 tribal).  After  independence, the second phase of extension of government control over forest area 
                 included the setting up of a network of Protected Areas which further eroded rights of these forest 
                 dwelling communities. In fact, the modern conservation approaches also advocated their exclusion 
                 rather than integration. In the absence of clearly defined property rights, millions of forest dependent 
                 families living in or around forest land have been perceived as encroachers or illegal occupants. The 
                 simplicity of tribal people and their ignorance of modern regulatory framework precluded them from 
                 asserting  their  genuine  claims  to  resources  in  areas  where  they  belonged  to  and  dependent  upon. 
                 Insecurity  of  tenure  and  fear  from  eviction  from  the  land  where  these  people  have  thrived  for 
                 generations was perhaps the biggest reason why tribal community in India felt emotionally as well as 
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                                       Environmental Law and Policies 
            Environmental              Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition Of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 
                Sciences                
                  
                  
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
                           physically  alienated  from  forest  and  forest  land.  In  order  to  undo  this  historical  injustice  the 
                           Government  of  India  enacted  the  Scheduled  Tribes  And  Other  Traditional  Forest  Dwellers 
                           (Recognition Of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. 
                            
                           Introduction 
                            
                           The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006 
                           (herein after referred as Act) was enacted by the parliament in the winter session in 2006 and came 
                           into effect from 31st December 2007. The Act is supplemented by Rules known as Scheduled Tribes 
                           and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Rules which were framed in 
                           2008 and further amended in 2012. In addition to it, guidelines are issued by the Central Government. 
                           The Act is commonly known as Forest Rights Act. The Act extends to the whole of India except 
                           Jammu and Kashmir.  
                            
                           Objective of the Act 
                           The Act serves following purposes: 
                                     It recognizes the forest rights of the forest dwelling scheduled tribes and other traditional forest 
                                         dwellers. 
                                     It vests the forest rights and occupation in forest land to the forest dwelling scheduled tribes 
                                         and other traditional forest dwellers. 
                                     It provides a framework for recording the forest right vested in scheduled tribes and other 
                                         traditional forest dwellers who have been residing in forests for generations but whose rights 
                                         could not be recorded. 
                                     It tells about the nature of evidence required for recognition and vesting of forest rights. 
                            
                           Overview of the Act 
                           The Act is divided into 6 chapters and contains 14 sections (herein after referred as sec.) in total. 
                           Chapter  1  (Sec.1-  Sec.  2)  is  Preliminary  chapter.  It  talks  about  the  title  of  the  Act,  territorial 
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                                                                Environmental Law and Policies 
                    Environmental                               Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition Of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 
                          Sciences