Forest Rights Act, 2006 — A Journey of Empowerment and Opportunity

When the Forest Rights Act (FRA) was enacted in 2006, India took one of the most compassionate and forward-looking steps ever attempted in post-Independence history.

- DR. SINGARAM KULANDAIVEL

When the Forest Rights Act (FRA) was enacted in 2006, India took one of the most compassionate and forward-looking steps ever attempted in post-Independence history. The law was not merely a legislative reform; it represented a moral recognition of communities that had nurtured India's forests for centuries. For generations, Scheduled Tribes (STS) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDS) had lived, cultivated, protected, and preserved forest landscapes even before the modern state existed. Yet, due to colonial legal frameworks, their ancestral lands were categorised as government forests, leaving them without legal rights.

The passage of FRA was therefore a historic correction-an act that restored dignity and identity. As one tribal elder from Bastar said beautifully, "A title is more than paper; it is the return of our name to our own soil." By acknowledging traditional ownership, the Government of India and the state Government have ensured that millions of forest dwellers finally received a rightful place in national development.

FRA opened the door to inclusion, access to schemes, financial identity, and a renewed sense of belonging.

Over the last two decades, the Government has made exceptional progress in implementing this mammoth task-one of the largest land rights recognition efforts ever undertaken in the world.